A brutal attack on an Auckland dairy has left its owner so traumatised he says he wishes they'd killed him instead.
Jitesh Arora can't run his business and may even lose the use of his arm, which has prompted calls for a Government department to help compensate the victims of crime.
Mr Arora was hit 30 times with a bat inside his Mount Roskill dairy by a group of teenagers looking for cash and cigarettes.
He says while he may have been lucky to survive the attack, the aftermath leaves him wondering.
"To be honest, I wish they could have killed me on that day."
Three weeks, and 200 stitches later, he may never regain the use of his arm. The fate of his business is just as uncertain.
Until the day of the attack, Mr Arora's dairy was a 365-days-a-year business. It's since been shut for 20 days, and Jitesh and partner Preeti Arora have no idea when, or even if, they'll open the doors again.
Arora's insurance only covers the damage to the shop, not the loss of his earnings. He is receiving $344 a week from ACC, but it doesn't cover the lease for his business, leaving him thousands of dollars short.
"Altogether, all expenses per month need $6000 or $6500. They give me $344 per week," Mr Arora told Newshub.
Mr Arora's brother-in-law believes victims of crime should be compensated and wants a new Government agency to do that.
"He should be worried about his injuries. Why is he worried about paying his expenses? Why is he worried about paying his bills and the outgoings? Why is he worried that he should not be going bankrupt? Now his main worry is if he doesn't pay the lease, he will be going for bankruptcy," brother-in-law Raj Chopra says.
"They should have a department under one roof who should look after the problems of the victims of these cases. It was not Jitesh's choice to have this incident. Nobody wants that, nobody wants that he should be in the cast or in the bed, in the hospital. This was an uninvited incident, which he is a victim of that," Mr Chopra says.
Two girls, aged 13 and 14, were charged with aggravated assault and placed in the care of Child Youth and Family.
A Givealittle page has been set up for Jitesh and Preeti Arora to help their business stay afloat. If you'd like to donate, you can do so here.
Newshub.
