Slough Borough Council’s trading standards team have successfully prosecuted a Slough shop owner for £8,730 after selling alcohol to a 15 year old boy during an undercover sting.
The case, involving Kewal Randhawa of One Stop Shopping on Farnham Road, Slough was originally heard at Bracknell Magistrates Court in December 2007.
However, Mr Randhawa, who was found guilty of three offences under the Licensing Act 2003 and fined for the under age sale of two bottles of Bud Ice, decided to appeal his Slough case, costing him an extra £700 in fines.
Originally, Mr Randhawa was fined a total of £5,000, plus £3,030 costs, for -
* Under age sales offence
* Licence contravention selling under age
* Licence contravention for not having a refusals register on site
But when the case went to Reading Magistrates court on August 28 2008, the fine increased to £1,500 plus £4,200 appeal costs and £3,030 cost of the trial, totalling £8,730.
Judge Justice Maher ruled that Mr Randhawa had not done enough to train his Slough staff and could not demonstrate his due diligence defence.
The appeal against the sentence was addressed by the bench and amended with the following penalties:
* Under age sales offence – increased from £1,000 to £1,500
* Licence contravention selling under age – reduced from £2,000 fine to a conditional discharge valid for two years.
* Licence contravention for not having a refusals register on site – reduced from £2,000 fine to a conditional discharge valid for two years.
Peter Adshead, the investigating officer for Slough Borough Council, said: “It’s very important for traders to be aware that, when an offence like this is committed, it’s not only the seller, but the legal owner of the goods who is liable for prosecution.
“It’s the responsibility of all business owners to train their staff and monitor their work to make sure they don’t break the law by someone else’s hand.”
Commissioner for Slough community and leisure, Cllr Shafiq Chaudhry, added: “Well done to trading standards for being so vigilant and on a successful prosecution.
“The team are always available to assist traders to put in place systems of reasonable precautions and due diligence to help safeguard themselves from committing such offences.”
Slough Borough Council
