Poor payoff for meat cleaver-wielding robbers

Kaikohe's Tui Superette, where one employee was fortunate not to have been severely injured by a would-be robber.

A man narrowly escaped severe injury at the hands of a teenaged robber armed with a meat cleaver during an attempted robbery at Kaikohe's Tui Superette on Monday.

Five young males entered the superette at about 8.40am, armed with a hammer, a meat cleaver and a long-bladed kitchen knife. Detective Senior Sergeant Rhys Johnston said the offenders were immediately aggressive, swinging their weapons and striking display cabinets as they entered.

The three terrified staff responded by shouting and throwing anything they could lay their hands on.

"As a result the offenders lost the bottle and legged it," Mr Johnston said, one of them grabbing a $3 bottle of water on the way out.

One employee chased the robbers down Broadway with a broom.

Mr Johnston said it was "perfectly legitimate" for people to defend themselves as the superette staff had, but police didn't recommend it.

"Our advice is it's only property, it's not worth risking an arm, or worse, to a meat cleaver," he said.

CCTV footage showed just how close the weapon had been to one employee's arm.
He urged anyone who recognised the youths, or had seen them "hanging around town," to call the Kaikohe station on (09) 405-2960, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555-111. They had disguised themselves but he was confident that someone would know who they were.

They had been "hopping around so much" that some had lost their bandannas, exposing their faces to the security cameras.

"We're hoping someone will be able to identify them before they hurt themselves or someone else," Mr Johnston added.

Hemant Patel, who owns the superette with his brother, said the incident had been scary, "but we handled it," although "they tried to kill us."

The robbery came less than a fortnight after an armed robbery at Kaikohe McDonald's, where three men armed with an axe and a shotgun smashed their way through the front door and ordered staff to hand over money. They have not yet been caught.