Callous crooks in West Lothian have targeted a Chinese restaurant and takeaway in the community for the third time in just two weeks - leaving the owners in despair.
The Dragon House in Kirk Lane, Livingston Village was raided again on Tuesday night after thieves broke in on November 6 and 12.
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Each time the gang strike around midnight and make off with a till so far stealing £160 in total. The owners say they fear for their safety as a nearby van was also broken into last night.
Shocking CCTV footage shows three hooded figures lurking outside the premises before they smash the front window with a blunt object.
One climbs in the window followed by another and the pair scurry through the diner before running to the back and grabbing the till. The alarm can be heard blaring as they make off leaving the front of the restaurant covered in shards of glass.
The restaurant had just reopened again after being closed at the weekend following the theft on November 12 as their door had not been repaired - meaning cooks and delivery workers had all missed wages thanks to the thieves.
Anna Chong from the WL Chinese Community Hub has been helping to translate and speak to police on behalf of the takeaway’s Malaysian and Indonesian owners, Teofilo Da Costa and Celcino Savio.
Speaking to the West Lothian Courier she said: “The shop has CCTV everywhere and they think it’s the same people each time.
“The owners want to pass the message around in the hope someone was walking their dog at the time or recognise the people to contact police.
“The second time it was at the weekend, so they couldn’t find anybody to cover the window, so they couldn’t open the shop for the whole weekend while they tried to get everything replaced.
“They have a lot of local staff who are delivery drivers and the chefs can’t work either.”
Anna said the men now don’t feel safe in the area, saying there has been a marked increase in crime recently.
She continued: “At the same time as the shop was broken into there was also a van parked outside and it was broken into as well, the windows were smashed.”
Police confirmed offices are investigating the break-ins. Detective Inspector John Murphy, of Livingston CID, said: “Enquiries are ongoing into this recent incident. We are appealing for anyone who has any information or may have seen anything suspicious before and after this incident to get in touch.
“Enquiries are ongoing and we would like to speak to anyone driving in the area who might have captured something on dash-cam that could help with our investigation.”
Anyone who can help is asked to contact Police Scotland on 101, quoting incident number 0578 of Wednesday, 16 November, or make a call anonymously to the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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