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A Dunedin restaurant has been prohibited from selling alcohol after its owner pointed an imitation firearm at a member of the public who asked him where to find a scooter.
Tokyo Garden owner Chengyu (Chris) Zhang was declined a temporary authority licence after a licensing inspector discovered he failed to notify agencies he was the new owner of the premises and continued to trade.
Police opposed the temporary licence over a previous incident involving Mr Zhang, which they argued raised questions over his suitability to provide alcohol.
A police submission said on June 4 last year in George St a passer-by asked Mr Zhang if he knew where any scooters were so he could get home.
Mr Zhang then produced a starting pistol from his vehicle, cocked it and pointed it in their direction.
The passer-by, believing the starting pistol was a working firearm, ran away thinking he was about to be shot.
After showing the pistol to a number of other passers-by, Mr Zhang entered a nearby bar and placed it on the counter.
He was arrested by police after leaving the bar.
Mr Zhang defended his actions, saying it was a blank-firing weapon he had to protect himself.
He was convicted and fined $1000 on a charge of unlawfully carrying an imitation firearm.
Mr Zhang was intoxicated at the time, and police noted this was a contributing factor.
This incident and Mr Zhang’s failure to notify the licensing authority about the change in company structure made both police and the licensing inspector question his suitability to be granted any alcohol licence or even run a licensed premises.
Because of these issues the committee decided to decline the temporary authority application.
Tokyo Garden had since withdrawn its application for a new licence before a hearing was held.
District licensing committee chairman Colin Weatherall said the venue could continue to offer food under its current food licence but was unable to provide alcohol to patrons.
Tokyo Garden still had the option to apply for a licence, which the committee would then consider.