Sportsman Hotel Spring Hill fined $20k for food safety breaches

A Brisbane gay bar with a history of cockroach infestation has been fined $20,000 after rat faeces was found in the kitchen.

The Sportsman Hotel in Brisbane’s Spring Hill. Picture: Google Maps

THE owner of a Spring Hill gay bar, which has a history of cockroach infestation, has been fined $20,000 after rat faeces were found in the kitchen.

Sportsman Hotel owner Neil Joseph McLucas, 84, today pleaded guilty to eight food safety breaches in Brisbane Magistrates Court.

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The charges came after Brisbane City Council officers found rodent droppings in four locations of the hotel’s kitchen in February last year.

Council prosecutor Charlotte Hoskin said most of the faeces had been on floor surfaces, but “the presence of rodents themselves indicates the rodents could have been present on any surface in the kitchen while unattended”.

“The main concern is the missing portion of the wall, which creates a place for pests to harbour at the premises,” she said.

“But the fact that the rodent faeces was present indicates that regular cleaning wasn’t being undertaken at the premises. If regular cleaning was being undertaken at the premises the problem could have been addressed earlier. The lack of regular cleaning also provides a food source which encourages the pests to harbour and hide at the premises.”

Ms Hoskin said the business had been subject to a number of food safety audits by council in the past, including having been issued with an improvement notice in 2005 and in 2008 as a result of a cockroach infestation.

The venue also received a show cause notice and immediate suspension of license in 2013 from another cockroach infestation and an infringement notice in 2016.

McLucas’ defence lawyer Peter McCartney said his client had become aware of the infestation and was attempting non-chemical options before initiating the use of traps.

He said McLucas had also engaged professional assistance.

The court heard the 84-year-old been operating food businesses for 45 years and never had a complaint from a member of the public.

“(This case) doesn’t involve a complaint of cockroaches… it hasn’t come about as a result of community complaint,” he said.

“My client has no criminal conviction and no history tendered in relation to offences against the Food Act.

“My client has certainly taken all available steps to remedy the issue identified and he’s aware of the seriousness of the charges and potential for harm to the public.”

Magistrate Michael Quinn said the faeces were obvious in the photographs.

“It’s so obvious, it just couldn’t be missed. There’s a lot of it,” he said.

“The photographs support the facts ...show the amount of excrement of faeces and other droppings in the floor in the vicinity of where food is prepared.

“They do show, in my view, poor compliance with the regulatory regimen…This is just not a one-off failing in standards.”

Mr Quinn fined McLucas $20,000 but he had no conviction recorded due to his “84 years of blameless existence”.