Mt Albert pharmacist Grant Gillard was locking up after a break-in early on Tuesday morning when he was confronted by an intruder, Bruce Allan Jones, who died, apparently from cardiac arrest, during a struggle.
A security guard had attended the burglary but had left.
Mr Loh owns three Dunedin pharmacies: Unichem Gardens Pharmacy, Dunedin North Pharmacy and South City Pharmacy.
In the past eight years he had been burgled eight times, and robbed once.
He was also robbed in the mid-1990s at another Dunedin pharmacy during his training.
The offender had had a gun.
Mr Loh apprehended a knife-wielding robber at his Gardens pharmacy just after he bought it, eight years ago.
He said he would not apprehend anyone now, as offenders were more unpredictable.
Mr Loh said there was a significant security risk involved with protecting pharmacies once they had been burgled, after security staff left.
"So many of us have had to stay back and guard the pharmacies in the middle of the night after a break in, wondering if they will come back."
This may be an issue for security firms to address, he said.
Mr Loh said his pharmacies had not been burgled since 2008, and while he did not want to tempt fate, he believed Dunedin was safer because of a visible police presence.
He also believed the fact his three pharmacies dispensed methadone was a protective factor.
Those who needed methadone tended to take a protective view of the pharmacies that dispensed it, he said.
Mr Loh expressed his sympathy for Mr Gillard and his family.
