Store owners decide to sell up after robbery bashing

An Auckland dairy owner needed six stitches after being bashed in the face with a bottle of orange juice during a robbery yesterday.

The 39-year-old was also punched and kicked after he pretended to phone police during the robbery at his Penrose shop just before 8am.

The man's wife, who did not want to be identified, said they would sell the Penrose Rd shop because the convenience-store business was too dangerous.

"I told my husband to give it up because it's not safe anymore," she said. "Next time maybe they kill my husband."

Two Pacific Island men aged in their late teens to early 20s fled with the three-litre bottle of juice used in the attack.

Police said they had obtained security footage of the crime and were making inquiries.

The injured owner was yesterday resting after receiving treatment at Auckland City Hospital.

His wife said they had been robbed about six times since buying the business three years ago. In most of the cases, items were taken from shelves and they did not bother to contact police.

None of the thefts had turned violent before yesterday, she said.

"My husband knew they were going to pinch things and he was pretending to phone police and [pretending] to talk to police.

"As a shopkeeper you're supposed to protect the shop but I tell my husband to let them go. Maybe the phone annoyed them."