Rotorua's The Lucky Lottery Shop co-owner Kulwant Singh outside his shop. Photo / Andrew Warner
Rotorua's The Lucky Lottery Shop co-owner Kulwant Singh outside his shop. Photo / Andrew Warner
Shattered glass, a broken cash register and stolen cigarettes.
That is the scene The Lucky Lottery Shop co-owner Kulwant Singh was called to following a late-night break-in on Wednesday.
A police spokeswoman said police were called to the CBD store on the corner of Tutanekai and Haupapa Sts about 11.30pm.
When Singh arrived at the scene, he said the front window of his shop had been smashed, one of the cash registers was lying broken on the floor and other items - such as Lotto tickets - were in disarray.
There was glass covering the carpet and pavement, and blood smeared on the cabinet where the cigarettes were contained, he said.
The Lucky Lottery Store in Rotorua was broken into on Wednesday night. Photo / Supplied
Singh said a member of the public had alerted police to the break-in late on Wednesday night and he feared if they had not reported the incident there would have been more damage to his shop.
"There would have been heaps, the alarm was not working."
Neither was the CCTV, which he said was scheduled to be fixed yesterday.
The front window was broken but had since been boarded up and the shop was open for business yesterday. Photo / Supplied
Bavan Dep Kaur, who co-owns The Lucky Lottery Shop, said she felt sad the shop had been broken into.
"Smokes prices are going up every year, people are just getting really mad and they can't afford it. But they want to smoke, and they can't quit. So, maybe that's why."
But, she said, it was lucky everyone was safe and there was not too much damage.
Kaur said police had visited during the day yesterday and collected fingerprints from the shop.
She said the cash register has been repaired and they were working through insurance.
The broken window was boarded up and the shop was open for business yesterday.
