Violent robberies scaring shop owner in Dunedin

Tainui Store owner Tony Zou says robberies targeting cigarettes and tobacco are escalating, as is the violence which accompanies them. Photo: Gregor Richardson

By Timothy Brown

Dunedin is no longer safe for those who own dairies, a shop owner says.
Tony Zou's Tainui Store was held up at gunpoint last month. And he is not alone in being threatened by weapons.

The latest police statistics reveal a 25 per cent rise in aggravated robberies in the year to the end of June compared with the previous 12 months.

Zou said the area used to be quite safe.

But the shop had been held up by robbers using a knife or hammer and on the last occasion by a woman holding a gun. The shop was robbed of cash and cigarettes on July 13.

"When they hold a gun to you, I don't know if they want to kill me," Zou said.

"I don't know if it's a real gun [or not]."

The pair who robbed the store took a "few hundred dollars" in cash and a "few thousand dollars" worth of tobacco products.They remain on the loose, which has added to his anxiety and that of other dairy owners.

Like many migrant shop owners, Zou lives on the premises and feels as if his home has been invaded.

"It's quite scary operating a small business, especially a tobacco business, in Dunedin at the moment.

"It's very unsafe here."

His thoughts were echoed by others in the industry, who were powerless, as without tobacco they would go out of business.

"We can't fight them when they come," Zou said.

"We can't keep any tool or knife. We can't save ourselves, so every time we lose our money."

With insurance excesses costing thousands of dollars, it was often not worth claiming the loss.

In fact, twice last year when nothing was taken he did not report the matter to police. That would have led to the business being closed while the robberies were investigated, costing income.

Zou said he was pleased the Government had offered $1.5million to help shop owners find ways to cut down robberies.

But the cost of funding measures - even those for which police could offer co-funding - would be prohibitive for some businesses.

He wanted the Government to legislate harsher penalties for those responsible.

In China the perpetrators would get 10 years' jail compared with perhaps only a few months here, Zou said.

The law was not strong enough.