Owner of roach-infested Brighton sushi bar Isuki pleads guilty

UPDATE: THE owner of a filthy sushi bar in Melbourne’s inner south has been fined $40,000 after pleading guilty to dozens of charges.

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UPDATE: A BRIGHTON sushi bar owner has been convicted and fined a total of $40,000 after pleading guilty to dozens of charges involving cockroach infestations, dirty utensils and Food Act breaches.

The Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court today heard Isuki owner/director Sara Duyen Nguyen, 36, of Footscray, had kept the Dendy Plaza Church St eatery in appalling conditions, with cockroaches running over floors, walls and across surfaces.

She pleaded guilty to more than 30 charges in relation to breaches detected by Bayside Council inspectors last year and again earlier this year.

Magistrate Doug Bolster convicted and fined Isuki and Nguyen a total of $40,000. Isuki was fined $25,000, and Nguyen given a $15,000 penalty.

Mr Bolster said the breaches were a “dismal failure”.

“The offences reflect very serious breaches; you had responsibilities to prepare in a safe and clean environment, “ Mr Bolster said.

“The conditions portrayed had the potential to affect the person, who was consuming’s, health.”

Costs have been deferred to another court.

Isuki remains open as it is now compliant with the Food Act.

RELATED: Filthy Brighton sushi bar faces court over Food Act breaches

Prosecutor Louisa Dicker, on behalf of Bayside Council, told the court that the offending was a public safety risk, and had continued despite the business closing for renovations.

She said repeated inspections in February and March 2015 revealed multiple examples of pest infestation.

“Cockroaches (were) observed on the front serving area crawling on equipment and the benchtop around an accumulation of food waste,” Ms Dicker said.

She said cockroaches were observed in a microwave, on the freezer and within cupboards, among other places.

But more charges were laid earlier this year, and cockroaches were again found.

Defence lawyer Matthew Cookson said his client had suffered personal issues and admitted she hadn’t put the care or time into the business that it needed.

“It is an old building with longstanding issues with cockroaches and her inability to manage staff meant the business spiralled out of control, “ Mr Cookson said.

He said Nguyen had spent $200,000 renovating in April and May last year in an effort to deal with the problem.

He said recent inspections had given the business the all clear and she was entirely compliant.

When the case opened on January 20, Isuki and Ms Nguyen were originally hit with a combined 66 charges, after inspectors found a cockroach in food, filthy food preparation areas and poor handwashing facilities.

The charges stemmed from a series of Bayside Council raids between February and April last year.