A LOCAL restaurateur will beef up security after he chased a thief who made off with his till and weekend takings in Tamworth.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It’s the second time in four months that thieves have struck Paul Pinto’s Priyamahal Indian Restaurant after a brazen crook made off with the till on Valentines Day.
Luckily, this time round police recovered the cash register shortly after, dumped in a nearby park with just a few coins missing.
The Goonoo Goonoo Rd restaurant had a number of customers on Sunday just before 8pm when a man entered the foyer and grabbed the till.
“He walked in and grabbed it, but this time he did it very softly,” Mr Pinto said.
“We saw some shadow or something. We knew immediately something was happening. That’s why we ran after him. We tried to scare him but he was gone.”
Mr Pinto gave chase to a nearby park while his wife rang police, who were quickly on scene.
“I think we managed to scare him and he threw the till on the ground,” Mr Pinto said. “The police came and they searched the area and found it.”
Investigators have seized the till for forensic testing to see if there are any clues on who might be responsible.
Now, after the double strike, Mr Pinto isn’t taking any chances.
“Yes, I have to do something different. I’ve already put a chain on the till,” he said yesterday.
“We have cameras already, but I don’t think they care. The problem is we don’t know if it’s a customer or not. That’s the hard part.”
While things could have been a lot worse this time round, it’s still rattled the small, family-run restaurant.
“You just have to bear it. We just have to be extra careful,” Mr Pinto said.
Police are investigating the incident and believe the man was wearing a hooded jacket and dark track pants.
He’s described as possibly aged in his late teens and Caucasian in appearance.