Melbourne chef fights off armed car thief with chair

A chef has told how he bravely confronted an armed thief, who tried to steal his car in inner-north Melbourne.

Hari Soni used a chair to defend himself as the thug swung a machete at him behind his Spice Mix Restaurant in Brunswick East on Tuesday night.

“He tried to attack me. I was confronting with the chair,” the father said. 

“He tried to attack me several times, he did several attempts. 

When the armed man got inside Soni’s locked hatchback, the chef sprung into action with his employees, grabbing what they could to defend themselves, including a metal broom. 

Soni said when they turned the corner, the offender pulled out a weapon.

“He took out the big machetes and he was trying to stab me,” he said.

“ …I was scared. I had a thought of my family, because if something happens to me, who going to look after them?”

The attack was over in a few seconds. The offender gave up and fled empty-handed, leaving Soni physically unhurt.

“Traumatised, stressed. I was very stressed last night, I couldn’t sleep,” he said.

Soni opened his restaurant on Lygon Street eight years ago. 

He said he didn’t feel safe working there anymore and wanted more police patrols

“What I did was for my family, for my business, for my customer, for the safety of the community.”