Robbery victims feel safer after arrest

Railway Road Mini Market owner Sangha Pardeep Singh said he and his wife were pleased to hear an arrest had been made after his store was robbed at gunpoint at the weekend. Photo / Glenn Taylor

A man has appeared in court after a Hastings dairy was robbed with a sawn-off shotgun at the weekend.

Forest worker Kahi Daniel Hanara appeared in Hastings District Court yesterday, charged with armed robbery after a shotgun was pointed at Railway Road Mini Market owner Mamjit Pardeep Singh, and a sole female customer at 6.30pm on Saturday night. An undisclosed sum of cash was taken. Neither Ms Pardeep nor the customer was injured but both received help from Victim Support.

Hanara, 40, was arrested by armed police, who swarmed on his Hastings residence the next day.

Detective Sergeant John McCarthy, of the Hawke's Bay CIB, said Mr Hanara was remanded in custody yesterday.

Ms Pardeep Singh's husband, Sangha Pardeep Singh, said he and his wife were pleased to hear an arrest had been made. "We're feeling a lot safer - well done to the police."

He said his wife was "feeling good" and had spent some time in the store yesterday.

Hawke's Bay is one of only three districts in the country to show rise in crime during the past year with robberies, abductions and violent acts all rising. Statistics New Zealand figures show recorded crime in Hawke's Bay rose 1.6 per cent in the year to June 30 to 15,418 offences, up from 15,171 the previous year. Violence, robbery, burglaries and thefts all increased.