A Christchurch business owner says he’s close to having a mental breakdown after one of the children who raided his premises has threatened to do it again.
MobileZone in Sydenham was targeted by five youths on the 5th of September.
They used a wheel spanner to break through the front window of the Colombo Street shop causing thousands of dollars worth of damage.
Store owner Talvinder Singh said he received a message from the same group of offenders on Facebook saying they would target his store again.
Chris Lynch Media has seen the message which uses obscene language and threatens to commit an aggravated burglary.
Singh visited the Christchurch central police today to make a complaint, but was told there wasn’t much they could do because they were under-resourced.
He said police added the information to the existing file.
Singh said as a small business owner he had forked thousands of dollars to install metal grills and a roller shutter to his premises.
He said he was about to have a mental breakdown due to the unnecessary stress and he didn’t know where to go to get help to protect his business.
“I’ve just spent $5,000 on additional security and paid $2,000 in insurance excess.
“If they do it again, I’ll have no choice but to either close my store and leave for good.
I sympathise with the police as they do a great job, I shouldn’t have to live in fear of being robbed again and again.”
Singh said one youth was arrested in relation to the attack on his store last month and was at the youth facility in Rolleston.
A police spokeswoman confirmed they received a report from someone who had received a threat to their business via social media.
She said the matter is with Intel for initial assessment.
In regards to the September incident a male youth is going through the courts and is expected to reappear in Christchurch Youth Court again today.