Chip shop worker dumps waste in Chinatown

A man who drove into Manchester’s Chinatown to empty chip shop waste from his car has been convicted of fly tipping.

Mau S Tang appeared at Manchester Magistrates on 30 January where he pleaded guilty to two counts of fly-tipping. He was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay £727 costs.

Tang, aged 48, was employed by his wife at the Chinese Fish & Chip Shop, Stockport Road, Ashton-under-Lyne. He packed his car with waste from the business, including cooking oil cans, food packaging and food waste such as egg shells bread crusts and vegetable peelings. He then drove into Manchester city centre and dumped the rubbish in St James Street in the city's Chinatown.

Tang's crimes were uncovered by one of Manchester City Council's street environment managers on routine patrol. On two occasions, 2 April and 4 May, the officer found several waste-filled potato sacks piled up on St James Street.

Shreds of correspondence discovered in the rubbish were painstakingly pieced together to identify the chip shop owner, Mrs Tang. When interviewed by environmental health officers, she implicated her husband and he admitted his offences.

Manchester City Council's executive member for Neighbourhood Services, Councillor Eddy Newman, said:

"Thanks to the hard work and dedication of council officers, this individual has been held to account for his crimes.

"Fly-tipping is anti-social and encourages vermin and disease. I hope this prosecution sends out a strong message. We take environmental crime very seriously indeed and will take every action necessary to identify offenders and pursue them through the courts."

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