Owner of hazardous restaurant evades jail

Filthy surfaces at the Imperial City

THE owner of an Oldham town centre restaurant that was found to be filthy and infested by mice has escaped a jail sentence.

Horrified council inspectors found live vermin and droppings throughout the kitchen of the Imperial City, Yorkshire Street, when they made an unannounced visit.

There were mouse dropping on a cooker, on the floor and next to food.

In addition flies were buzzing around and landing on food preparation surfaces, items of equipment were filthy, waste food had accumulated on moulding chopping boards and a fryer and the floor itself were greasy and dirty.

There was no hot water in one of the sinks for staff to wash their hands, and another was leaking, and filled with black plastic bin liners.

Kitchen staff were wearing normal street clothes instead of protective and hygienic coveralls.

Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court heard that the smell was so bad that a seasoned council official had recoiled in absolute horror.

Sentencing 41-year old Wen He, the owner of the buffet-style restaurant, Judge Timothy Mort said there appeared to have been a systematic failure of safeguards to ensure hygiene.

He said there had been an obvious and serious risk to health, adding: “It is clear that the danger here was one of food poisoning and gastro-intestinal complaints.”

Wen He who pleaded guilty to six offences of failing to comply with general hygiene regulations, could have faced two years in prison after local magistrates decided they did not have sufficient sentencing powers to deal with him and committed him to the Crown Court.

The judge instead fined him £12,000 after telling him he did not consider jail appropriate as he had quickly admitted responsibility and closed the business down.
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