Couple fined for underage alcohol rap
21 June 2011
A newsagent owner and her husband have been fined over £1000 for selling alcohol to an underage person.
Devraj Patel, 55, and Ramaben Patel, 56, of Sonning Road, Bolton, were both individually fined £750, ordered to pay £420.28 with a £15 victims of crime surcharge at a Manchester Magistrates Court hearing on 15 June 2011 - a total of £1185.28.
Both defendants failed to attend court but pleaded guilty by letter.
City Council trading standards officers carried out a test purchase at B & R Newsagent, Hathersage Road , where Devraj Patel sold alcohol to a 14 year old volunteer. This test was carried out after a previous underage volunteer was sold alcohol without being questioned.
Ramaben Patel was prosecuted as the Premises Licence Holder who has the responsibility to take all appropriate steps to prevent underage sales at the premises.
The licence holder must show they had taken all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence.
Although there was some evidence of training at the newsagents, Devraj Patel had not signed the training log.
Councillor Nigel Murphy, Manchester City Council's executive member for the environment, said: "The legal drinking age is in place to protect young people from the dangers of drinking at a young age and the implications for ignoring these laws can be grave.
"Selling alcohol to underage children is a serious offence and this prosecution should be a warning to other premises that when caught breaking the law, action will be taken."
