Selwyn Times: August 07, 2019
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SELWYN TIMES Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi<br />
Wednesday <strong>August</strong> 7 <strong>2019</strong> 7<br />
Another fake bank<br />
note surfaces in Lincoln<br />
• By Devon Bolger<br />
A SECOND Lincoln business<br />
has fallen victim to a counterfeit<br />
money scam.<br />
The Kingfisher restaurant’s<br />
Rakesh Shetty said they’ve been<br />
left shocked after a fake $100<br />
note was used by a customer<br />
sometime in the last few weeks.<br />
“The worst part is we don’t<br />
even know exactly when it<br />
happened. I noticed last week<br />
when I tried to use the money<br />
somewhere else and ended up<br />
getting security called on me,”<br />
he said.<br />
“That’s when I realised what<br />
had happened but the note<br />
could have been sitting there for<br />
a while already.”<br />
Losing the money has been a<br />
blow to the business, Mr Shetty<br />
said.<br />
“It’s a lot of money and at the<br />
end of the day we work hard for<br />
our money like everyone else.<br />
It’s one of those situations where<br />
now that it’s happened we can’t<br />
do much.”<br />
Mr Shetty reported the<br />
incident to the police but said<br />
aside from advice on how to<br />
avoid the scam in the future,<br />
there isn’t anything they can do.<br />
“They want us to look through<br />
the cameras and if I knew the<br />
exact day it happened I could,<br />
but going through weeks<br />
of transactions looking for<br />
the person would be almost<br />
impossible.”<br />
The incident comes about<br />
a month after <strong>Selwyn</strong> <strong>Times</strong><br />
reported $200 in counterfeit<br />
notes were used at Isushi in<br />
Lincoln. Shop manager Ben Yao<br />
said the store was targeted by<br />
two people using the notes.<br />
“A woman came in and paid<br />
with a $100 note, a few hours<br />
later a man came in and also<br />
paid with a $100 note,” he said.<br />
It follows a spate of counterfeit<br />
money in the Canterbury region<br />
this year. Since late-March,<br />
about 460 counterfeit notes with<br />
a face value of about $27,000<br />
have been circulating.<br />
Eight people have now<br />
been charged with using or<br />
possessing fake bank notes.<br />
Fast food outlets and service<br />
stations are mainly being<br />
targeted, a Reserve Bank<br />
spokesman said.<br />
The organised crime unit is<br />
investigating the use of the fake<br />
notes, which are made of paper,<br />
tear easily and have visible<br />
imperfections and missing seethrough<br />
windows.<br />
Detective Senior Sergeant<br />
Joel Syme said there isn’t one<br />
particular group of people who<br />
are presenting the fake notes.<br />
Tickets<br />
7 MARCH<br />
On Sale<br />
LINCOLN<br />
Now<br />
www.selwynsounds.co.nz<br />
Improvement plan not<br />
expected until end of year<br />
•From page 1<br />
It is also close to Dunsandel<br />
School and is a safety risk to<br />
the children walking home, Mr<br />
Dalzell said.<br />
“We have been working with<br />
the New Zealand Transport<br />
Agency to try to come up with<br />
some solutions but we aren’t<br />
getting anywhere”<br />
NZTA figures show there were<br />
three crashes causing injury<br />
at the Browns Rd intersection<br />
between 2008 and 2017.<br />
Mr Dalzell said the statistic<br />
doesn’t surprise him.<br />
“There are a lot of unreported<br />
close calls and that is where I’m<br />
coming from. It shouldn’t take<br />
somebody being killed for them<br />
to do something.”<br />
An NZTA spokesperson said<br />
the agency is aware of community<br />
safety concerns around the<br />
intersection in Dunsandel.<br />
It is being considered as<br />
part of the SH1 <strong>Selwyn</strong> River<br />
to Ashburton work currently<br />
planned, the spokesperson said.<br />
The NZTA announced it<br />
would begin looking into ways<br />
to improve the safety of SH1<br />
between the <strong>Selwyn</strong> River and<br />
Ashburton in 2017. Fourteen<br />
people died and 45 were seriously<br />
injured on this stretch of road<br />
between 2008 and 2017.<br />
The improvements will focus<br />
on turning off and on the<br />
state highway in general, but<br />
particularly at the Browns Rd<br />
intersection in Dunsandel.<br />
The NZTA held a number of<br />
community events last year and<br />
developed a draft plan for the<br />
project.<br />
A final preferred option for<br />
the improvements was expected<br />
early this year but has not been<br />
released.<br />
The NZTA will now work<br />
through the feedback received<br />
and present a business case so it<br />
can apply for funding.<br />
The NZTA is hoping to<br />
have a finalised plan ready by<br />
the end of the year, the<br />
spokesperson said.<br />
Mr Dalzell said it is not<br />
good enough and the<br />
Dunsandel community<br />
deserves better.<br />
“We’re just waiting for some<br />
disaster to happen down here<br />
and the NZTA doesn’t want to<br />
know about it,” he said.<br />
Your last chance<br />
to join the party!<br />
There’s only 2 days left to join<br />
in our renovation celebrations at<br />
Westfield Riccarton Food Court<br />
Don’t miss the free face painting<br />
and balloon twisting fun!<br />
This Thursday 8 and Friday 9 <strong>August</strong><br />
5pm - 8pm<br />
See you in the Food Court
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