Bottle shop owner with cricket bat and martial arts ready to repel thieves
A Melbourne bottle shop owner has resorted to arming himself with a cricket bat and practicing martial arts after being robbed five times in two months.
Bill Xie is calling on police to arrest a group of men he said continue to target his Point Cook store.
“Normally they come here in groups of five or six,” he said.
“One or two pretend to buy something, but the rest walk around and pinch my stuff.”
The IGA liquor store across the road from Mr Xie’s store was also targeted on Monday night when thieves made off with more than $500 worth of alcohol in three minutes.
The staff members were told not to confront them as they stole the liquor.
Mr Xie said Victoria Police needed to do more to stop the thieves.
"Grab those guys, put them in jail, or put them in the courts, if they do it again, they should kick them out," he said.
Victoria Police superintendent Marty Allison said police were “disturbed by this sort of activity”.
“Victoria Police are committed to holding people to account for their action,” he said.
Police have since made 48 arrests in armed robberies and aggravated burglaries in the area.
