‘House of poo’, cockroaches, rat droppings: Nasty food safety surprises in Queensland restaurants
A rat corpse, cockroaches, mould, flies and putrid meat were some of the gross discoveries that landed Qld eateries in hot water. See what other foul surprises have been found.
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A rat corpse, cockroaches, mould, flies and putrid meat were some of the disgusting kitchen discoveries that landed these Queensland restaurants in court.
Eateries from southeast Queensland all the way to the Far North have been fined thousands of dollars after inspectors arrived for annual inspections or to check on customer complaints.
In Brisbane, in 2022, 80 food businesses were fined or prosecuted a total of $369,680 with the smallest fine $1000 and the largest $25,000.
On the Gold Coast, the council pinged 85 food businesses $718 each for non-compliance since November 2021 but did not close any food premises under the Food Act.
In Redland, south of Brisbane, three businesses were shut due to breaches of food safety standards and one prosecution is under way.
Two worked with the council to rectify the problems and have now reopened.
Redland council issued 13 on-the-spot fines for breaches and 38 improvement notices in the past year and oversees 684 licensed food businesses.
In Ipswich, the council issued 60 improvement notices, eight fines and suspended one business’s licence after a show cause notice.
Ipswich prosecuted one business which was found guilty on 13 charges and fined $30,000 with costs of $351.80.
In Toowoomba, eateries were fined more than $90,000 over the past two years for food safety and health violations.
In 2021-22, 56 fines totalling $38,584 were issued — equal to nearly one in 10 businesses with a food licence that Toowoomba Regional Council inspected.
That was an improvement on 2020-21, when there were more than $52,000 in penalties for 79 outlets.
In 2021 seven Mackay businesses failed their eat safe food inspections while four more businesses can now boast five-star ratings.
Queensland Health is responsible for requirements relating to labelling and composition of food, while local governments are responsible for the licensing and inspection of food businesses.
Historically, Queensland Health published a register of prosecutions under the Act, however that ceased more than decade ago.
This is our list of documented court cases across the state, but does not account for any businesses that may have closed or changed management since the prosecutions.
THE SITE CAFE, BANYO
A Brisbane cafe was in March 2023 fined $15,000 for breaching various food safety regulations after a health inspector discovered the popular eatery was littered with rat faeces.
Owner of the Site Cafe on Vincent St in Banyo, Santoshi Rana, 41, pleaded guilty to six counts of failing to comply with food safety codes.
Ms Rana and her husband Raul took over the cafe in April 2017, after owning various Donut King stores and a Michel’s Patisserie which they sold in 2016.
Despite their hospitality history, the court heard that Ms Rana had no experience in running a restaurant prior to taking ownership of the The Site Cafe.
A council environmental health officer visited the premises on November 9, 2021 and uncovered a series of serious health and safety breaches, including rodent droppings on “various surfaces,” improper food storage, general uncleanliness and maintenance issues.
The cafe located next to the Banyo train station, also had no fly screens and lacked pest and insect control, the court heard.
CREMA ESPRESSO, INDOOROOPILLY
A Brisbane eatery fined $20,000 without a conviction recorded was Crema Espresso Franchising. The Indooroopilly café has now closed but breached the Food Act six times.
Brisbane Magistrates Court heard in October 2021, there was a nest of 20 live cockroaches under a fridge, a number of dead cockroaches near the kitchen sink and on the floor plus four dead cockroaches and faeces inside a cabinet in the customer service area.
Magistrate Judith Daley found the business guilty of failing to comply with the Food Standards Code and failing to comply with conditions of its Food Business Licence.
The court heard there were also a combination of maintenance issues, gaps and holes in premises allowing for pests to enter, significant cleanliness issues with filth on various surfaces and live cockroach infestation and cockroach excreta.
The court found the presence of cockroaches, animals and pests, a risk to food contamination. There was also an issue with single-use item breaches with coffee cups and containers not protected from contamination.
TRANG ON HARDGRAVE, WEST END
Trang Restaurant on Hardgrave had a number of issues reported in 2021-2022 including a dead mouse located in the restaurant’s storage area and rat droppings on shelves under the sink.
Trang owner Ngoc – Huong Pty Ltd, pleaded guilty to five counts of failing to comply with a requirement imposed by the food standards code in December 2021.
The restaurant became compliant and was operating within guidelines being “cooperative, fully transparent and attended to all the issues as soon as possible”.
The court heard the restaurant had gone beyond what was required.
The Brisbane Magistrates Court heard a Brisbane City Council inspector audited the award-winning restaurant in July 2020.
Ngoc – Huong Pty Ltd was fined $20,000 with no conviction recorded – the second highest penalty in that period.
Trang faced eight offences including for breaches in food storage, cleanliness, food handling, food display, maintenance and animals and pests along with live and decomposing cockroaches and rodent faeces.
BUNCHA BUNCHA, STONES CORNER
Well-known restaurant Buncha Buncha at Stones Corner was fined $7500 in November last year for nine breaches of the Food Act relating to cleanliness, poor food storage practices, poor maintenance, single-use items breaches, food processing and, the most serious, the presence of rodents in the premises.
Rat droppings on food packets, 14C chicken pate and garlic stored among grotty utensils were just some of the failed food standards which led to the owners of the popular Vietnamese restaurant being fined.
Tuan Quang Nguyen and Trang Thi Hien Chu, who run Buncha Buncha, pleaded guilty to nine counts each of failing to comply with the Food Standards Code and nine counts of contravening the conditions of a licence all stemming from the same incident.
Brisbane City Council prosecutor Jac Thong said a complaint regarding hygiene issues was received about Buncha Buncha in July 2020.
Acting Magistrate Patrick Murphy took into account pleas of guilty, co-operation with the council and the couple’s financial situation and reduced the penalty.
WEST END KEBAB, WEST END
A Brisbane City Council inspector attended West End Kebab and Pizza House in February 2021 after a customer reported seeing rats at the premises, the Brisbane Magistrates Court heard in July.
Council solicitor Jac Thong said the officer found noncompliance with 10 clauses of the Food Standards Code including food stored out of temperature and live cockroaches and rodent faeces in food storage areas and the kitchen.
“ It is … a very serious example of cockroach infestation within a food business in which there was high risk of food contamination,” he said.
The business owner at the time, Yunus Emre Kahraman, who has since sold the business and is not involved with it, pleaded guilty to 10 breaches of the Food Act.
Defence lawyer Rod Mugford said his client, who immigrated to Australia from Turkey in 2016, did not fully understand his obligations under the Food Act but had been using a pest extermination company.
Magistrate Peter Saggers said Kahraman was out of his depth operating the eatery.
Kahraman was fined $20,000 and had no conviction recorded.
SOUL ORIGIN, QUEENS PLAZA, BRISBANE CBD
A cockroach in a salad display cabinet alerted authorities to CCYT Pty Ltd, trading as Soul Origin Queens Plaza. Director Songfei Yuan and the establishment pleaded guilty to four breaches of the Food Act in July this year.
Brisbane Magistrates Court heard Brisbane City Council inspected the eatery in May last year after receiving a complaint about the cockroach.
The inspector found cockroaches on the premises but not on food preparation areas, the court heard.
Defence lawyer Tom Goodwin said his clients were “extremely remorseful” and had undertaken significant steps to ensure it didn’t happen again including changing pest exterminators.
A food safety audit on May 5 saw the eatery earn four stars out of five.
Mr Goodwin said pest control appeared to be a “long standing issue” for the plaza’s food court.
CCYT was fined $16,500 while Yaun was personally fined $1500 and no convictions were recorded.
DOWNTOWN ISTANBUL TURKISH EATERY
Istanbul Holdings Pty Ltd, trading as Downtown Istanbul Turkish Eatery in Hawthorne, and company director Ulku Isik pleaded guilty in July 2022 to four breaches each of the Food Act.
Brisbane Magistrates Court heard the restaurant was inspected on March 8, 2021 which led to an improvement notice for three minor breaches including a single live cockroach entering a gap.
An exterminator attended on March 19 and told the restaurant “all good, no activity, keep up the good work, no recommendations”.
But a follow up council inspection on March 23 found “the cockroach infestation had increased”, the court heard.
Defence lawyer Tom Duhig said the pest company was replaced by a new exterminator and the problem eradicated.
In June, 2022 the restaurant underwent a $100,000 refurbishment to reduce the potential for pest harbouring.
Mr Duhig said the company ran five restaurants and none had ever had convictions under the Food Act.
Magistrate Peter Saggers found the defendants had shown contrition and remorse and fined them $14,000 and Isik was personally fined $750 with no convictions recorded.
HAPPY BOWL, SUNNYBANK
The owner of a popular southside restaurant in the heart of Brisbane’s unofficial Chinatown was ordered to pay a $22,000 fine in February 2021 after Brisbane City Council food inspectors found cockroaches.
Cao-Nhan Che, owner of Happy Bowl Vietnamese Kitchen in Sunnybank Plaza shopping centre, faced Holland Park Magistrates Court in February 2021.
Che and his company were each charged with nine offences under the council’s food laws.
Magistrate Simon Young said some of the offences were trivial, but the discovery of live and dead cockroaches, cockroach faeces and egg sacks were far more serious.
In October 2020, Good Luck Noodle at Coopers Plains and its owner were fined a total of $24,500 after council inspectors found live cockroaches.
Brisbane City Council lawyer Michael Spencer told the court inspectors first made the stomach-churning discovery in the kitchen area of the restaurant on September 30, 2019.
Dead cockroaches and faeces were found at a follow-up inspection on February 19.
Mr Spencer said Happy Bowl had never been convicted of food breaches before but had received zero star ratings from council in June, 2017 and also in January, 2018 when cockroaches were again found. Another zero star rating was given in June, 2018.
Che’s lawyer said his client had taken steps to address noncompliance with Council food safety laws and suggested cockroaches may have been entering through gaps.
But Mr Young said the level of infestation “is indicative of a restaurant that has not been kept to an appropriate level of cleanliness’’.
Mr Young took into account Che’s early guilty plea to all charges and his efforts to have the restaurant cleaned and fix the noncompliance issues after the first Council inspection.
He fined Che $2000 and his company $20,000 and ordered he pay court costs and council’s professional costs. No conviction was recorded.
HOUSE OF FU, CLAYFIELD
A northside restaurant was dubbed the “house of poo” in April after faeces was found in food prep areas and near a hand wash basin in 2019.
House of Fu’s Thong Duy Vo and Vinh Ngoc Tran pleaded guilty to three charges each of failing to comply with the food standards code in April 2021.
Vo and Tran were fined $5500 each with no convictions recorded.
Brisbane Magistrates Court heard a council inspector visited the restaurant in November 2019 and issued an improvement notice.
A month later a follow up audit found noncompliance in relation to cleanliness and rodent droppings.
Brisbane City Council prosecutor Jac Thong said the faeces were found in the food prep area, shelving and near the hand wash basin.
“This is a concerning aspect as rats and or their fleas have the potential to transfer harmful bacteria around surfaces, especially where food is prepared,” he said.
The business was immediately shut down but reopened two days later when the issues were rectified.
Despite House of Fu having six previous audits with no convictions incurred and a three star rating the restaurant had a “longstanding issue” with cleanliness.
Lawyer Yen Ho said the offending occurred when the restaurant was very busy with clients being the only staff.
Ms Yen said the men made full admissions to council and improved their restaurant with no further breaches.
Magistrate Michael Quinn said there must be “zero tolerance” when it came to customer safety issues.
Vo and Tran were fined $5,500 each with no convictions recorded.
BAKED TO PERFECTION, CLAYFIELD
Baked to Perfection at Clayfield was fined $16,000 and director Kevin Kielly fined $2000 in September 2020 for nine offences relating to food storage, cleanliness, maintenance, live and dead mice and mice faeces, dead cockroaches, and live weevils. No convictions were recorded.
Brisbane Magistrates Court heard that a council officer spotted a live mouse running through the kitchen in January 2019.
Two more dead rodents were found on a food shelf, live weevils were found in flour no longer being used and dead cockroaches were also spotted.
Both the bakery and Mr Kielly pleaded guilty to nine charges each including offences relating to cleanliness and the presence of pests.
Rodent faeces were also spotted across the floor of the bakery that often catered to school and community events.
The Brisbane Magistrates Court heard Mr Kielly had worked to fix the cleanliness issues within 24 hours and introduced better pest control management.
Liza Marshall, who represented Mr Kielly, said he had been struggling since the death of his wife in March and his son who died in 2017 due to a brain tumour.
GEORGE’S PARAGON SEAFOOD RESTAURANT, EAGLE ST, BRISBANE
George’s Paragon Seafood Restaurant at Eagle St, in Brisbane City was fined $15,000 for five offences relating to cockroaches found in the kitchen and rodent activity, hygiene and cleanliness.
Cockroaches were found in various parts of the restaurant and a container of bread rolls was found on the floor before the popular inner-city eatery and director Michael Tassis faced Brisbane Magistrates Court in September 2020.
Mr Tassis, director of the restaurant, together with the company that owns the Eagle St Restaurant, pleaded guilty.
The seafood restaurant underwent a deep cleanse over a three-day shut down in July 2019 after a Brisbane City Council food safety audit conducted an inspection.
Cleanliness concerns and food storage issues were also noted.
Mr Tassis was placed on a 12-month $2500 good behaviour bond with no convictions recorded.
PAW PAW CAFE, BRISBANE
A veteran of Brisbane’s restaurant industry was fined $20,000 in June 2021 after four people fell ill from salmonella infection after dining at his cafe.
Raymund Venzin, the sole director of now defunct Paw Paw Cafe Pty Ltd, faced Brisbane Magistrates Court in June 2021 after Queensland Health and council officers found mouldy chopping boards and potentially hazardous food.
Mr Venzin pleaded guilty to seven offences under the Food Act and no convictions were recorded.
GOOD LUCK NOODLE, COOPERS PLAINS
Council health officers found cockroaches at a Brisbane noodle shop, a decade after another inspection revealed rat faeces on the premises.
Good Luck Noodle owner Fernandes Chang Castillo faced Holland Park Magistrates Court in October 2020 charged with multiple breaches of his licence and food safety laws.
The court heard Castillo, who pleaded guilty to all charges, was fined in December 2010 after a council investigation revealed poor food storage, cleanliness and maintenance.
Council solicitor Michael Spencer said there were 14 breaches and 40 charges in that case.
“Inspectors found rodent faeces, although the breaches were later rectified,’’ he said.
Mr Spencer said on May 23, 2019 inspectors again looked at the restaurant, in Coopers Plains, and found numerous breaches including food processing and storage, maintenance and eradication of animals and pests.
He said Council was “not pushing for a conviction’’ but instead asked for fines and payment of fees and court costs.
Magistrate Sue Ganasan said in her sentencing that general deterrence was important in such a case to help protect safety.
Ms Ganasan took into account Castillo was an owner-operator and not part of a large company, and also his early guilty pleas and the fact he had taken steps to fix the problems.
She fined him $2500 and also fined the company of which he is a director, Zheng Feng Pty Ltd, $22,000.
She ordered costs and fees be paid as well, but did not record a conviction.
SUMMER HOUSE, KANGAROO POINT
The operator of a now defunct restaurant once labelled Kangaroo Point’s premier dining spot was fined tens of thousands of dollars in March 2021 after live cockroaches and rodent faeces were found there.
Brisbane Magistrate Stephen Courtney said he imagined nobody would have eaten at the Summer House Cafe & Restaurant if they’d known the state of the kitchen and food storage areas.
The Brisbane Magistrates Court heard food safety inspectors visited the restaurant, operated by Jesse Jones, in April 2019.
Brisbane City Council prosecutor Jac Thong said officers found non-compliance with the food standards code in areas such as storage, hygiene, cleanliness and pests.
“There were rodent droppings and live and dead cockroaches,” he said.
“Cockroach faeces were observed in the food storage area ... and there were live and dead cockroaches in the dishwashing area in close proximity with the food preparation area.”
“What was apparent is … effectively a nest of live cockroaches and cockroach faeces up against the wall,” he said.
Jones, who operated Summer House from 2016 to 2019, was charged with eight counts each of contravening a condition of a licence and failing to comply with food standards code requirement.
He was also charged with contravening an improvement notice.
Mr Thong said the restaurant’s licence was immediately suspended after the inspection and not reinstated until a fortnight later when the issues had been rectified.
In a 2018 article on Flight Network titled 72 Hours To Eat and Drink Your Way Through Brisbane, Summer House was described as “Kangaroo Point’s premier dining spot”.
Magistrate Stephen Courtney said council inspectors had found kitchen and food storage areas which were poorly maintained and dirty.
Raw egg aioli and coleslaw were stored on a bench at 22C and 27C respectively, with council alleging it should be stored at 5C or below, he said.
The court heard Jones had been co-operative with council.
He was fined $25,000 and no convictions were recorded.
CAFE NOMA, WAVELL HEIGHTS
Rodent chewed pasta led to a cafe in Brisbane’s north being fined thousands of dollars in February 2021.
Corporate defendant Vita Dolce_Y Pty Ltd, the owner of Cafe Noma in Wavell Heights, pleaded guilty to six counts each of contravening the condition of a food licence and failing to comply with food standards code requirements.
The Brisbane Magistrates Court heard a food inspector visited Cafe Noma in July 2019 and found six breaches of the code relating to food storage and display, cleanliness, maintenance and pests.
Brisbane City Council solicitor Jac Thong said rodent faeces were discovered on the kitchen floor and shelving in the pantry areas and dry lasagne sheets had been chewed by rodents.
Mr Thong said the business’s licence was immediately suspended however this was lifted two days later when a further inspection found all issues rectified.
This was the first prosecution against the cafe which previously held a three star rating for good compliance with the Food Act, he said.
The company’s barrister David Purcell said the cafe took immediate and effective remedial action which had been ongoing.
Magistrate Belinda Merrin said consumers were entitled to have purchased food “stored, prepared and served in a hygienic and appropriate manner”.
She noted the company’s co-operation with council inspectors and “very prompt remedying” of the problems.
Vita Dolce Y was fined $18,000 and no convictions were recorded.
TUCKERIA FRESH MEXICAN, FORTITUDE VALLEY
Tuckeria Fresh Mexican at Fortitude Valley was fined $18,000 and owner Jordan Birchall fined $1000 for 12 offences relating to presence of live cockroaches and poor food storage.
Tuckeria group of outlets, launched by entrepreneur Birchall in 2009, ceased trading in July 2020 as the pandemic squeeze intensified.
Three months later, both he and the company pleaded guilty to the dozen charges each related to food safety standards and were hit with $19,000 in fines after live cockroaches were found in one of the venues.
Birchall, who later worked as a sales director at Bevan Slattery’s IT outfit Megaport, finally pulled the pin on his solely-owned Tuckeria Pty Ltd in January 2021.
No convictions were recorded.
SHOTS ON CREEK, BRISBANE CBD
Shots On Creek in Brisbane was fined $10,000 in November 2020 for five offences relating to cleanliness and presence of live cockroaches. No conviction was recorded.
EZICAFE, FORTITUDE VALLEY
Fortitude Valley’s Ezicafe was fined $20,000 for 14 offences in October 2020 relating to cleanliness and maintenance. No convictions were recorded.
SALTY’S GRILL AND CAFE, FERNY GROVE
Salty’s Grill and Café at Ferny Grove was fined $22,000 in January 2021 and owner Joshika Sinha fined $1000 for eight offences relating to rodent droppings and maintenance. Convictions were not recorded.
MORNING THE PEAK, HE SHE EATS, BRISBANE
A Brisbane city restaurant was permanently closed and slapped with a $15,000 fine after health inspectors found live and dead cockroaches and pest excrement in the kitchen.
Morning The Peak restaurant in Brisbane was fined $15,000 and owner Yee Ching Tsui fined $1500 for 25 offences relating to live and dead cockroaches and cleanliness. No conviction was recorded when the case was heard in Brisbane Magistrates Court in September 2020.
Tsui and her business faced a combined 50 food safety offences relating to improper food storage, poor cleanliness and cockroach presence in the kitchen of the He She Eat Hong Kong Cuisine restaurant.
Brisbane City Council prosecutor Anna Swindley said the charges related to two separate inspections by council officers in April and June of 2019.
She said while many of the offences were relatively minor, the most concerning aspect of the offending was the presence of live and dead cockroaches and cockroach excrement throughout the kitchen of the restaurant located in Post Office Square on Queen St.
Other breaches included foods being improperly stored and left open to contamination, grease and dirt build up on surfaces and the ground and poor maintenance.
Ms Swindley said Tsui had been extremely cooperative with investigators, had hired a professional industrial cleaner between the two inspections and had undertaken regular pest control measures.
The court heard Tsui had only taken over the business in late 2018 before becoming severely ill, causing her to hire someone else to run the business while she was away receiving medical treatment.
Tsui said she had spent all her savings on the restaurant and had borrowed $40,000 to keep it going but was finally forced to permanently close the business.
Magistrate Wendy Cull took Tsui’s cooperation with investigators, early plea and repeated attempts to improve the business into account in sentencing, noting also the challenges of COVID-19 on businesses and people.
MOO FREE BURGERS, BRISBANE
The co-founder of popular Brisbane fruit juice bar Charlie’s Raw Squeeze was fined thousands in June 2021 after cockroaches were found in his separate food truck business.
Johnny Tabet, sole operator of food truck business Moo Free Burgers, pleaded guilty to 10 food safety breaches that occurred at the Brisbane Laneway Festival in 2020.
Brisbane City Council prosecutor Mark Thomas said the food truck had a poor standard of cleanliness with visible matter and grease on its walls, floor, shelves, deep fryer, grill and electrical cords.
The court heard Tabet had previously received penalty infringement notices for breaching the Food Act as a director of Charlie’s Fruit in 2014 and Veganyumm in 2017 and as the operator or licensee of Moo Free Burgers in 2018.
Mr Thomas said even though these were not court prosecutions they were still relevant.
Tabet had a prior conviction for a food safety breach at Veganyumm, he said.
Tabet’s lawyer Mohammed Patel said at the time of offending his client was enduring “difficulty and disruption” due to his rapidly expanding business ventures.
In 2015, Tabet along with his brother launched Charlie’s Raw Squeeze juice bar.
“He went from working in his father‘s fruit shop for 18 years to attempting to operate a business with his brother, which then within a six month period went to operating 12 stores,” he said.
“The defendant at one point had 900 employees that he was dealing with.
“The defendant attempted, with the 12 stores and the Moo Free truck, to arrange monthly audits to try and ensure that there was some compliance with food safety”.
Mr Patel said after the breaches in the truck, which was taken off the road due the impact of covid-19, the problems were rectified immediately.
He urged the court not to further penalise Tabet given his recent misfortunes.
“He then lost the family run fruit shop, they lost all of the stores … the defendant works in and operates three stores … the defendant’s brother manages another two juice stores,” he said.
None of Tabet’s other food businesses were subject to proceedings.
Acting Magistrate Sue Ganasan fined Tabat $19,000 and a conviction was not recorded.
FORTUNE CHINESE RESTAURANTS, FRASER COAST
A popular Chinese restaurant in Maryborough was fined $30,000 after 16 customers came down with food poisoning after a meal at the venue, with two of them becoming seriously ill.
Zai Jiao Xiao and Gan Ming Ruan, owners of Fortune Chinese Restaurant, both pleaded guilty to selling unsafe food when they appeared before Maryborough Magistrates Court in July 2022.
According to court documents, 16 people fell ill with salmonella poisoning after dining at the restaurant on March 21, 2021.
Their symptoms began in the early hours or morning on March 22, with all but three either going to hospital or visiting a doctor.
The documents said in March 2021, the restaurant was operating a buffet-style, all-you-can-eat dinner service, in contravention of a public health order not to operate self-serve buffets.
Of the 16 people who fell ill after dining at the restaurant on March 21, six tested positive to the same strain of salmonella, according to documents presented to the court.
The matter came to the attention of the Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service after a woman posted on social media and others also complained of becoming ill.
A number of issues were identified, including lack of temperature control, topping up food in the bain marie instead of putting in new batches, inappropriate storage and refreezing thawed chicken.
Lack of effective cleaning was also identified, with a common sink used to wash dishes and prepare food.
One of the customers was diagnosed with salmonella gastroenteritis and pancreatitis, along with an “acute kidney injury” according to the documents, while another woman also suffered an acute kidney injury and her kidneys began to shut down.
According to court documents, the offending was limited to one night and the defendants had been cooperative.
Testing in the following weeks indicated the contamination had not spread.
However, the restaurant had a concerning history of non-compliance with food safety standards, according to documents presented to the court.
In September 2010, an improvement notice had been issued in regards to the storage and temperature control of food and not following proper cleaning or sanitation processes.
In January, 2019, the restaurant got a D for food safety on a rating scale, with A being the best result and E being the worst.
It was found the handwashing facilities were not compliant and there were maintenance issues.
After the food poisoning incident in March, 2021, the restaurant received an E rating, and in the follow-up inspection in April a rating of D was received.
The defendants had no prior criminal history.
Both Xiao and Ruan were fined $15,000, bringing the total fine to $30,000.
No convictions were recorded.
BOMBAY BLISS, IPSWICH
A company which operates Indian restaurants across Queensland was found guilty of failing to comply with food standards after an inspector found pests, grime, and contamination issues at their Ipswich store.
Ipswich City Council prosecutor Kevin Lynch told Ipswich Magistrates Court in February 2022 the Bombay Bliss restaurant at Springfield’s Orion failed six consecutive health inspections from February to December 2020.
Mr Lynch said a senior inspector found cockroaches throughout the store, seafood thawed at dangerous temperatures, improper hand cleaning facilities, a build-up of food and grime on multiple cooking facilities, which even included the fire extinguisher.
The court heard the restaurant’s operation was most concerning because despite being spoken to about the breaches it continued to operate in an unsafe manner.
Mr Lynch said the re-occurring issues were linked to a build-up of food and grime on the stove tops, dials, knobs, and the rice cooker.
The inability to provide staff with single-use paper towels to ensure clean hand hygiene was also an issue, along with cross-contamination of utensils “laden with food build up” being stored with clean utensils.
Mr Lynch said the offending continued over a period of years and after repeatedly breaching standards the council was forced to take criminal action even though it had threatened to cancel Bombay Bliss’s food licence in 2019.
Acting Magistrate Geoffrey Seaholm said the restaurant was clearly putting the community’s health at risk.
He fined the company $40,000 after it was found guilty of 25 charges of failing to comply with the food standards code.
Bombay Bliss closed the Springfield store in 2020 and handed their licence in although it continues to run other restaurants across Queensland.
KRYPTIC LOUNGE BAR, TOWNSVILLE
The owner of a Townsville bar has been fined thousands of dollars for misleading liquor regulators, providing false documents and breaching his licence to serve alcohol.
Joshua Michael Sinnott, 34, faced Townsville Magistrates Court in May 2022 and pleaded guilty to 10 offences linked to his now shuttered Flinders St bar.
Sinnott was the sole director of the company which held the liquor licence for the Kryptic Lounge Bar & Restaurant, the court was told.
His charges included using a licensed premise for prohibited businesses, making false or misleading statements, failing to take reasonable steps to stop or prevent an offence and not complying with orders for a licensed premises.
Kryptic closed its doors in January 2022 when no buyers came forward to take over the venue following a period of poor trade during the Covid pandemic.
Sinnott sold alcohol as the principal activity of the venue which breached his liquor licence which required him to serve food and meals, the court was told.
The 34-year-old manipulated the bar’s point-of-sale terminal so that drinks would be entered into the system as food items to hide the quantity of alcohol being sold.
He failed to provide records when requested by the Office of Liquor And Gaming Regulation and gave the regulator false documents about the sale of alcohol at the venue.
The court was told his offending spanned 12 months between July 2020 to July 2021.
Defence barrister Darrin Robertson said his client, who had no criminal history, was young and naive when he took on the responsibility of running a licensed premise at just 28 years old.
Magistrate Scott Luxton accepted the offending was out of character and fined Sinnott $10,000. No conviction was recorded.
JO’S BRASSERIE, GOLD COAST
And this is included in our list, even thought it happened in 2004, because it was so unusual...
Jo’s Oasis Brasserie and Bar was once a mainstay of the Gold Coast dining scene for more than 15 years. Shoppers, locals and tourists travelled to the Oasis Shopping Centre at Broadbeach to sample its inexpensive meals.
It was fondly remembered for its wide variety of cuisines but it is also remembered for a scandal that brought down its curtains in the mid-2000s.
In 2004 the Gold Coast City Council prosecuted the restaurant’s owners, Appetites International and its manager over breaches of the Food Standards Code.
Council health inspectors raided Jo’s in August 2004 and photographed a rat, “covered in thick red paint to match the floor under the main food servery”.
The court heard a massive fungus growth crawling with cockroaches was found nearby under the servery, along with heavily rusted stoves and food preparation areas.
Other rodents, both living and dead, were spotted by inspectors and rat faeces were littered across the kitchen, the court was told.
“Another customer cut into a meal of fish, only to find the animal had not been gutted and cleaned,” the court heard.
“So horrified were they by the discovery, they took the plate home and froze it as evidence.”
Council inspectors closed Jo’s and ordered a clean-up.
Magistrate Ron Kilner said at the time the state of the premises was “exposed by the disgusting photographs’’ tendered as evidence.
“It doesn’t take an expert to see that the place is in a fairly unhygienic state,’’ he said.
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An off-highway motel has relaunched its restaurant with a new look and menu, celebrating with free margaritas for a month across its Queensland sites. SEE THE MENU.
WiseTech’s board confronts tough choices with White
The billionaire founder of WiseTech Global, Richard White, has the backing of his board but there are active discussions about the chief executive taking leave from the tech major.