Suspended prison sentence for restaurant fire safety breaches
07/03/2011
The owner of a south Wales restaurant has been sentenced to four months imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, and 250 hours community service after being convicted of 13 offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
Abdul Kadir, owner of the Raj Gate restaurant in Cwmbran, pleaded guilty to the offences at Cardiff Crown Court on 25th February. He had previously pleaded not guilty at Caerphilly Magistrates’ Court on the 24th March 2010, where he elected to be tried by jury.
Mr Kadir was also ordered to pay £5,300 in costs.
The prosecution followed an inspection of the restaurant by fire safety officers as far back as August 2008. The premises included sleeping accommodation for staff.
The inspection identified several breaches of fire safety legislation including;
- Inadequate provision of escape routes
- A defective fire alarm system
- Obstruction of escape routes
- No fire evacuation training for staff
- An inadequate emergency lighting system
The breaches were considered so serious that Mr Kadir was issued with a prohibition notice to stop using the entire premises until the breaches were rectified. However, this prohibition order was breached on two occasions when the restaurant was found still to be trading without the deficiencies fully rectified.
The prohibition notice was lifted in respect of the ground floor on 1st September but remained in place for the first floor, until the restaurant eventually ceased trading in the summer of 2010.
The restaurant is now in the hands of a bankruptcy trustee, the court heard.
