Best of 2019: Armed robbery at Whanganui's Castlecliff Hotel all too familiar for owner

Castlecliff Hotel owner Amninderpal Singh has been the victim of three aggravated robberies, the third of which occurred on Monday when an offender pointed a gun at him. Photo / Jesse King

This summer the Chronicle is bringing you another look at some of the best content of 2019. This story originally ran on May 1, 2019

Castlecliff Hotel owner Amninderpal Singh was on the phone to his mother in India when a man entered the premises and pointed a gun at him.

There was no one else in sight. Singh was the only staff member on duty, the bar was empty and the few people playing the pokie machines were oblivious.

"I was behind the bar and he came in through the back entrance. His face was covered. He just pointed a gun at me and I was scared," Singh said.

"I kept calm. I didn't react much, just stayed on the phone. He went through the entry to the bar, passed behind me, went to the till and took money from it."

The offender then asked Singh if he had any more money, to which Singh replied there was none and the offender walked away.

Singh said it was not a large amount of money and did not want to disclose exactly how much it was.

Security cameras set up in the hotel captured footage of the man hiding at the back of the premises for a period of time before committing the crime.

Police at the Castlecliff Hotel.

For Singh it was an all too familiar situation. He has been the victim of aggravated robberies three times since he took over at the hotel six years ago.

The first time was in 2015 when a masked man approached Singh in the carpark of the Polson St premises, put a knife to his throat and demanded money.

A couple of years later, Singh became a victim again.

"That time me and my wife were here and there were a few customers around. Nobody can do anything when they are holding a gun," Singh said.

"There were three of them that second time and I got some injuries, some cuts on my arms from when they smashed a window."

Following that incident, both Singh and his wife suffered from flashbacks of what they had been through.

He said that his wife is still reliving that moment today.

Police have released an appeal to the public for information as they investigate the incident that occurred at 3.45pm on Monday.

The offender was seen heading towards Tennyson St and then running up Polson St towards Carson St.

He is described as being 1.8m tall and was wearing a dark grey hooded sweatshirt with the hood up over a lighter coloured cap.

Police at the Castlecliff Hotel.

The sweatshirt appeared to have a full-length zip up the front and he wore long, light grey track pants possibly with white stripes running the length of the leg.

Anyone with relevant information should contact Whanganui Police on (06) 349 0600 or contact police anonymously through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.