An Upper Hutt store owner who has been sleeping on an air mattress after an attempted burglary yesterday is calling on Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to spend a night there himself to "see the reality" facing small retailers.
Stirling Sports Upper Hutt owner Suraj Parkash Sund said the attempted break-in around 12.40am on Friday was the third time his store had been targeted since last Easter.
In early January, masked offenders shattered the glass door and took $9000 in clothing, and in April last year, a man wielding an axe broke in.
Security footage from last night's incident showed someone trying to smash the door with a tool before repeatedly kicking it.
Sund said he arrived minutes after the latest attempt and saw a red vehicle outside the store. He recorded its number plate and notified police.
The quick reporting allowed officers to locate the vehicle and arrest all five occupants, police said.
"The alleged offenders made multiple attempts to gain access to the store, however those attempts were unsuccessful. They then fled the scene in a vehicle," said Hutt Valley area commander Inspector Wade Jennings.
Sund's call "assisted police greatly", he said, adding that officers understood the impact the offending had on businesses.
The five alleged offenders, four youths and a 20-year-old man, were due to appear in court on February 12.
Sund said after the first break-in last year, he temporarily began sleeping on an air mattress in the store. Following Friday's incident, he had again taken to sleeping in the store overnight because he feared the offenders would return.
"I'm tired. My kids are crying at home because they’re scared something will happen to me," he told 1News.
"[Luxon] should come to my shop and sleep on the floor for the night, then he will feel how I'm feeling."
Sund said he voted for National at the 2023 election because of its law and order promises, but now felt no party had his support.
"It's all these promises, 'we're doing this, we're doing that', posting on social media, I don't think they're implementing anything," he said, adding he felt small businesses were being left behind.
1News approached the Prime Minister's office for response and had the request for comment referred to the Justice Minister.
The Justice Minister’s office directed 1News to a statement it provided last month about Sund's previous break-in, saying:
"This shows why we can never rest when it comes to law and order. Last year we toughened up our sentencing laws, and recently introduced the Crimes Amendment Bill, which includes a range of measures designed to help combat retail crime."
The Crimes Amendment Bill, introduced in December, included tougher measures aimed at retail offending, such as harsher penalties and on the spot fines of up to $1000 for low level theft.
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith added that “there is always more work to do”, and said the Government was committed to ensuring victims are “at the heart of the justice system”.
Sund said he wanted to keep his business open and remain in New Zealand, where he had lived for 18 years, but that the repeated offending had shaken his sense of safety.
"I set up this business to make life easier, not harder. I’m just trying to work for my family — but I don’t know how much more I can take."
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