A fast food operator who spent three years on the run has been tracked down and ordered to pay over £1500 after being found guilty of 27 food hygiene offences.
 |
| [relatedPosts title=”Related Posts”] |
|
|
- Council: Bridgend County Borough Council
- Fine: £540
- Costs: £984.59
- Total: £1,524.59
Mr Gouren Lin, who used to run the former ‘Yummy Kitchen’ in Moriah Place, Kenfig Hill, was initially prosecuted by Bridgend County Borough Council after Environmental Health Officers witnessed numerous offences mainly relating to dirty kitchen equipment between October and November 2010.
Mr Lin failed to appear in court in 2011 and a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was finally arrested in Heathrow on 28 March 2014 before appearing in court three days later when he was ordered to pay costs of £984.59 and fined £540 (£20 per offence) plus a £20 victim surcharge.
A second food business operator has also appeared in court after hygiene standards at their premises were found to be ‘horrifying’.
Mr Fouad Mahmood Mujahid, the former proprietor of ‘Salt N Pepper’ on Oxford Street in Pontycymer, pleaded guilty after visits from Bridgend County Borough Council’s Environmental Health Officers uncovered poor hygiene practices including the failure to adequately separate raw and cooked food during preparation which could have led to food poisoning.
A warrant was issued for Mr Mujahid’s arrest after he failed to appear in Magistrates Court in 2013. He was arrested in April this year before appearing in court, where he was fined £700, along with £700 costs to the local authority, plus a £70 victim surcharge.
Councillor David Sage, Bridgend County Borough Council’s Deputy Leader, said: “The most important ingredient for any food business is to ensure that the food they provide to customers is safe to eat, and these two prosecutions are therefore welcomed as both businesses were demonstrating poor food hygiene practices. Residents can feel reassured that Environmental Health Officers regularly inspect local food businesses to check that the standards of food preparation and cleanliness do not cause any health risks.”
