Police want to strip the sales licence from a liquor company which offered a Dunedin student flat more than 280 bottles of free alcoholic lemonade as part of a promotion.
Alcohol harm prevention officer Inspector Ian Paulin said the incident occurred during Flat Orientation Week in Dunedin, and prompted police to seek a suspension of the responsible company’s licence for the involvement in the promotion.
The company offered a well-known student flat more than 280 1.25-litre bottles of alcohol for free, he said.
"We believe this to be an example of an irresponsible promotion of alcohol — one which breaches the Sale and Supply of Liquor Act.
"The company involved is not denying they have made this promotion."
Insp Paulin said he was "very disappointed" the police felt it needed to take this action.
"This is a vulnerable community at a particularly sensitive time of year.
"We know this sort of activity has gone on for several years, but we just haven’t had the hard evidence to take an application [to the Alcohol Licensing Authority (ALA)].
"Thanks to some very good patrolling from our beat officers, we were in the right place at the right time to get the evidence of this promotion."
Insp Paulin said the application to the ALA should send a "clear message" to other alcohol companies.
"We’re not going to tolerate this sort of behaviour — we don’t want any company to prey on vulnerable communities, particularly during the Orientation weeks down the north end of Dunedin, which is awash with alcohol harm at that time of year."
Insp Paulin said police were waiting for a hearing date from the ALA for the application before they officially named the company.
Insp Paulin declined to comment whether it was linked to a case in February, where the Otago Daily Times reported that police and student groups were "baffled" by a promotion from Bee Alcoholic Lemonade, which sent more than 280 bottles of alcoholic lemonade to a student flat.
