A Whangarei man has had his manager's licence suspended for six weeks after the store was caught selling alcohol to an underage person for the third time.
Vinesh Pala, of the Tikipunga Food Market, had his manager's licence suspended from July 6 in a decision recently released by the Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority (ARLA).
The store had its liquor licence suspended for 10 days from the same date.
An employee of Mr Pala's was caught selling alcohol to the teenager as part of a controlled purchase operation in February.
Of the 20 attempted sales in Whangarei, three were successful.
The decision from ARLA revealed the store was also caught in a similar sting in 2007. In that instance the licence was suspended for five days and Mr Pala's manager's certificate suspended for three weeks. The decision also noted another failure in 2010 but because police took no action due to procedural defects, the authority placed little if any weight on the matter.
Matapouri Bay Store had its liquor licence suspended for seven days from May 23 after an employee sold alcohol to the underage person in the February sting.The store manager, Craig Vernon Pitman, had his manager's certificate suspended for 21 days from May 25.
Cactus Liquor Tikipunga had to close for one day, Saturday, May 23, after alcohol was sold to an underage person.