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WHEN a robber pulled a knife on takeaway shop owner Hong Ling and his chef Yang Yang, they weren't in the least impressed.
Used to working with knives twice as long as the "tiny" 15cm blade, they thought he must be joking.
In a Crocodile Dundee moment, the daring chicken shop duo armed themselves with a mop and rotisserie pole and soon sent the thief fleeing from from the Eat At Home shop in Waterloo, in Sydney, on Tuesday night.
Mr Ling, 25, said: "At first when he came with a little knife I didn't realise he was trying to rob my shop. I thought it was a joke.
"I thought he couldn't do much with his little knife so I went to the back of the shop and got a mop and started hitting him."
As Mr Yang, 21, weighed in with his rotisserie pole the man tried to run off, but they chased him and continued hitting him until Mr Ling slipped in a puddle caused by the wet mop.
The offender, who had earlier grabbed Mr Ling's wallet from the counter, threw it back as he retreated.
"He realised I was the tough one," Mr Ling said.
"I was just trying to defend myself and the shop. I work from 9am until we close at 10.30pm seven days a week."
Mr Ling, who migrated to Australia from China 10 years ago, had been watching a Chinese weightlifter vying for a medal at the Olympic Games on his laptop as he was cleaning the Potter St shop about 10.30pm.
The robber walked in and said he wanted to buy half a chicken and handed over $20 before pulling the knife. He told Mr Ling to open the cash register and give him all the money.
"I took my hands up and said go ahead and take everything," Mr Ling said. But the robber couldn't open the register and started hitting it with his fist.
It was then that Mr Ling and Mr Yang sprang into action.
But unlike Paul Hogan's character Mick Dundee when he was threatened with a knife in New York in the hit 1980s film Crocodile Dundee, Mr Ling said he decided not to brandish one of his cutting knives to defend himself.
"If I did some damage to him then I'd get in trouble too," he said.
An hour later, while making a report at the local police station, he heard that a man had been arrested while allegedly trying to rob the Y Hotel City South in Chippendale. He was caught hiding under a stairwell by a police dog.
"I think we did pretty well. You can't let him get away with a little knife," Mr Ling said.
Officers from Redfern police charged a 25-year-old Maroubra man with robbery while armed with an offensive weapon, assault and larceny.
He was refused bail at Central Local Court yesterday and will appear again later this month.
Mr Ling has owned the shop for a year and it was the first time he had been robbed. He has asked the security company for footage of him chasing the man down the street to show his friends.
He said he was relieved he was not injured because he is going to China on holidays on Saturday to see the Olympics and his wife is pregnant.
Mr Ling missed out on seeing the Chinese weightlifter being presented with his gold medal because he was at the police station.
Used to working with knives twice as long as the "tiny" 15cm blade, they thought he must be joking.
In a Crocodile Dundee moment, the daring chicken shop duo armed themselves with a mop and rotisserie pole and soon sent the thief fleeing from from the Eat At Home shop in Waterloo, in Sydney, on Tuesday night.
Mr Ling, 25, said: "At first when he came with a little knife I didn't realise he was trying to rob my shop. I thought it was a joke.
"I thought he couldn't do much with his little knife so I went to the back of the shop and got a mop and started hitting him."
As Mr Yang, 21, weighed in with his rotisserie pole the man tried to run off, but they chased him and continued hitting him until Mr Ling slipped in a puddle caused by the wet mop.
The offender, who had earlier grabbed Mr Ling's wallet from the counter, threw it back as he retreated.
"He realised I was the tough one," Mr Ling said.
"I was just trying to defend myself and the shop. I work from 9am until we close at 10.30pm seven days a week."
Mr Ling, who migrated to Australia from China 10 years ago, had been watching a Chinese weightlifter vying for a medal at the Olympic Games on his laptop as he was cleaning the Potter St shop about 10.30pm.
The robber walked in and said he wanted to buy half a chicken and handed over $20 before pulling the knife. He told Mr Ling to open the cash register and give him all the money.
"I took my hands up and said go ahead and take everything," Mr Ling said. But the robber couldn't open the register and started hitting it with his fist.
It was then that Mr Ling and Mr Yang sprang into action.
But unlike Paul Hogan's character Mick Dundee when he was threatened with a knife in New York in the hit 1980s film Crocodile Dundee, Mr Ling said he decided not to brandish one of his cutting knives to defend himself.
"If I did some damage to him then I'd get in trouble too," he said.
An hour later, while making a report at the local police station, he heard that a man had been arrested while allegedly trying to rob the Y Hotel City South in Chippendale. He was caught hiding under a stairwell by a police dog.
"I think we did pretty well. You can't let him get away with a little knife," Mr Ling said.
Officers from Redfern police charged a 25-year-old Maroubra man with robbery while armed with an offensive weapon, assault and larceny.
He was refused bail at Central Local Court yesterday and will appear again later this month.
Mr Ling has owned the shop for a year and it was the first time he had been robbed. He has asked the security company for footage of him chasing the man down the street to show his friends.
He said he was relieved he was not injured because he is going to China on holidays on Saturday to see the Olympics and his wife is pregnant.
Mr Ling missed out on seeing the Chinese weightlifter being presented with his gold medal because he was at the police station.
Source - News Dot Com
Won with a mop!! I love these stories. They really crack me up. Best justice. The thief not only gets caught, but really looks a fool. Well done Mr. Ling!!!!
