03 Jan 2013
A Thai restaurant owner failed to comply with a prohibition notice after an inspection uncovered serious fire safety failings, magistrates heard.
Aminur Chowdhury admitted breaching the notice when he appeared at West Hampshire Magistrates’ Court. He was fined £1,400 with £1,820 costs and a £15 victim surcharge. The fine was reduced from £2,100 following his early guilty plea.
Officers who visited the Siam Thai Lounge in Lyndhurst, Hampshire, last July said the failings had the potential to cause death or serious injury. They issued a notice prohibiting Mr Chowdhury from using the building’s second floor but when a follow-up visit was made a week later they found it had been used as a rest area by a member of staff.
Prohibition notices are issued under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 when inspectors believe the use of a premises or an area within it could pose a serious risk of injury or death.
Copyright Press Association 2013