Milk bar bandit meets his match

By Callan Date
A KNIFE wielding bandit had a night to forget last Saturday when an armed robbery on a Narre Warren milk bar went wrong.
The owners of the Greenridge Street store, Linda Liu and Garry Liang, said they were in disbelief when the robber entered the shop just after 9pm.
Ms Liu said she was preparing to close the business for the night when she heard a noise from near the shop door.
“I was standing a bit back (from the counter) and looked up and saw this man who tried to jump over the counter,” Ms Liu said.
“He fell down on our side of the counter and that is when I saw the knife.”
The robber, brandishing a 30cm blade, hit the deck hard and that’s when the crime-fighting couple swung into action.
“He still had hold of the knife really tightly so I tried to grab it off him while Garry got a chair and pinned his head down on the floor,” Ms Liu said.
At the forefront of the couple’s thoughts was their three-year-old son James, who was standing only metres from where the bandit lay.
“We were trying to protect James. He was very close and he was just standing there.
“We got the knife from him and then Garry held him down while I called the police. I then ran over to a neighbour and told him what was happening.
“He came over and helped hold the man down until the police came,” Ms Liu said.
She said the terrifying experience had left her a little apprehensive about working at the shop after dark.
“We have been here five years and nothing has ever happened before. It was really scary for me.”
However, the incident will not stop the owners from continuing to serve the local community.
“We love working here and having the shop. It is a very friendly area and the customers are nice.”
So friendly in fact that the couple have been inundated with well-wishers and gifts since the incident.
“We have had flowers and someone baked us a cake. Everyone has been very nice,” she said.
Police said they had charged a 21-year-old Narre Warren man with attempted armed robbery.
He has been remanded in custody to appear before the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on 20 August.