KEY POINTS:
The owner of a South Auckland liquor store who was stabbed as he tried to fight off an apparently drunken shoplifter on Tuesday night says he will fight back if charged by the police.
Detective Senior Sergeant Dave Pizzini told the Herald last night arrests were expected today following a brawl outside an Otara liquor store which left the two owners, a dairy owner and one youth injured.
However, he wouldn't elaborate on who would be arrested and said it was too early to rule either side out.
That leaves open the possibility that the store owners - who defended themselves with a hockey stick and held one of the teens down until police arrived - might also be charged for their role in the fight.
Varinder Singh Bains told the Herald he had heard talk that he and his cousin Baljeet Singh could be charged following comments made by the police on Wednesday. He has not, however, heard anything official from police as of yet.
When asked why he might charged Mr Bains said: "Because I defended myself."
The law allows shop owners to use "reasonable force" to defend themselves and their properties although people are expected to use common sense in deciding what that force is.
Mr Bains and his cousin were stabbed as they held one of the teens down. The teens were allegedly armed with a fence paling, knives and a long bar or bamboo stick.
Harvinder Kalkat, who owns the neighbouring dairy and ventured outside after hearing glass breaking, was hit in the face with a piece of wood.
One of the teens received head injuries but Mr Bains said neither he nor his cousin hit the youth so he is unsure how he received the injury.
Mr Bains said if he was charged he would fight it to the end as he didn't injure anyone and was simply defending his store.
"I would fight it because if we have got no right to defend it then why are we running a business in New Zealand. Why are we paying GST, why are we paying tax to the Government?
"I didn't injure anyone. The guy who was injured, I don't know how it happened. We never hit him or anything. Only the guy who had the knife, I gave him a hiding."
Sensible Sentencing Trust spokesman Garth McVicar said it would be "absolutely dumb" if the owners were charged.
"I would think the police would be starting to learn from this. If the public can't have confidence in the justice system and the police then we are going to see more and more of this type of thing happening. I think the police should be calling them heroes and giving them a medal."
Mr Pizzini said it was standard for police to investigate the criminal liability of everyone involved in the fight. It was only then, once all the statements had been taken and evidence gathered, that a final decision about charges could be made.
"We have got an open mind on who might be charged. We haven't made any decisions yet because we haven't interviewed everyone that we need to yet. We are just halfway through our investigation."
Police executed five search warrants yesterday and found a person at a South Auckland home thought to be one of the youths who ran from the scene before police arrived.
