The locks on the front door of Network Communications had been changed and there was a notice referring enquiries to Orange.

A week from Christmas Day Mr McLean is facing another desperate situation.

Already he is waiting to discover if he has contracted AIDS after being stabbed with a syringe during a robbery at the store. Now, it appears, he has lost his job without explanation.

Mr McLean believes the Macquarie Street store’s closure is linked to the October stabbing. He claims his employer refused to allow him time off to attend medical appointments.

The father-of-four said he was due to meet with the shop’s Cessnock-based proprietor last week to discuss the situation, however the talks did not go ahead because he was not allowed to bring a legal or pastoral representative.

The next morning Mr McLean arrived at work to discover the locks of the store had been changed and the premises cleared of its contents.

It was not the treatment he expected little more than two months after being stabbed with a syringe filled with red liquid during a robbery at the shop.

A bandit demanded money then jabbed Mr McLean in the forearm and injected the liquid, which he believed to be blood.

The 41-year-old, who has been treated with AIDS medication and undergone intensive psychological counselling since the incident, will not know until March if he contracted HIV or another potentially-fatal disease such as Hepatitis C.

“A week before Christmas and I am in limbo,” he said yesterday.

“I am in financial limbo, emotional limbo, psychological limbo and spiritual limbo.”

He said the nightmare of the robbery got worse two days afterwards when he discovered his boss George Critoph did not have worker’s compensation cover for him.

It meant Mr McLean, who was commended by police after a separate incident when he came to the aid of a police officer who was being attacked in Victoria Street in August, would not get paid for time he took off to attend appointments related to his treatment after the robbery.

“I find it very difficult that they can do something like this to a fellow human being, Christmas (time) or not” Mr McLean said.

All that was left at the store was a notice on the door of the store advising customers the shop is temporarily closed and advising them to contact Network Communications Orange with any inquiries.

Mr McLean believes the store might re-open without his involvement.

“I believe they have approached someone to take over the business,” he said.

The Daily Liberal informed Mr Critoph and the Network Communications head office of Mr McLean’s allegations yesterday. Both refused to make any comment on the matter.

Head office spokesman Rod Hopping refused to give a reason for not commenting. Mr Critoph said he had been instructed by the head office not to speak about the issue.

Mr McLean said he went public about the situation to warn workers to ensure their employers had fulfilled their responsibilities.

“None of us want to be robbed, none of us want a syringe stuck in us, but you need to know that you are not going to be penalised for something that is beyond your control,” he said.

One positive of the situation, according to Mr McLean, was the support he has received from the people of Dubbo after being stabbed.

“The township has been great since the robbery,” he said.