Dairy to give up cigarette sales

The first two times, they came with guns. Then it was a hammer. And last Saturday, an axe.

After being robbed and ramraided 10 times, Tao Liu has had enough. He’s given up the smokes.

The owner of Waikato’s Te Kowhai Food Centre is making a bold move, but he reckons the only way to put off the robbers is to stop selling cigarettes.

He knows it could be a blow to his livelihood. ‘‘But compared to loss of life, I have to. Before it was just a job but now it’s very dangerous. I want to sell them but for the safety, I have to do this.’’

The husband and father of two boys purchased the store in rural Horotiu eight years ago. He used to get hit once or twice a year.

Robbers have come four times this year. Each time, they are armed and wear masks.

‘‘We just run because the law says we can’t do anything,’’ Liu said, pulling up his sleeve to reveal a panic alarm he now wears on his wrist.

‘‘We had maybe two in three years. Now it’s 10 times. The first two times it was guns, second time a knife and then an axe. They take cigarettes and money, chocolate and a cellphone for the NZ Post.’’

Liu wasn’t working the last time the store got hit but says his employee was chased outside and around the store by a robber who was armed with an axe. The culprit and his accomplice then stole $8000 in cigarettes and tobacco.

That was the final straw. ‘‘They are coming anytime – we don’t know. It’s frightening.’’

Liu said he was now facing rising insurance premiums after losing his no-claims bonus. He’s lost thousands of dollars in cigarettes and had to claim insurance to repair the store’s frontage after two ram-raids. Each time, he’s forked out $2500 in excess.

Te Kowhai local Sharlene Decke, who once owned the dairy herself, said Liu was taking a risk financially but the community would stand behind him. ‘‘We are totally behind him in this move.’’

Detective Sergeant Scott Neilson said police were still investigating last Saturday’s robbery.