Restuarant owner sentenced over safety breaches

THE owner of a Chinese restaurant in Preston has been given a suspended six months jail sentence for serious and life threatening health and safety breaches.

Wen Qaing Cai, the former owner of China House Restaurant on Aqueduct Street was also ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and pay a total of £4,779.87 – including a £2,000 fine, £80 victim surcharge and £2,688.87 costs – after pleading guilty to four offences under health and safety legislation at Preston Magistrates’ Court.

The court was told how a multi-agency visit took place at China House on May 16 2013.

Cai, aged 35, of Preston Road, Chorley admitted to failing to protect the health and safety of his employees and others, failing to comply with a requirement for access to the cellar of the restaurant and to ensure gas work was carried out by an approved person.

In 2013, health and safety inspectors found the Chinese cooking range to be leaking gas and were also concerned as the flames were higher than expected and burning yellow, indicating the gas equipment may have been connects to liquid propane gas (LPG) cylinders.

Further inspection of the staff living quarters found a hot water heater, the front of which had been removed.  Without the cover, the boiler was not operating efficiently and there was incomplete combustion, leading to the production of carbon monoxide.
 
Cai was given four concurrent terms of six months in prison, which were suspended for 12 months.

Senior environmental health officer at Preston City Council, Jonathan Cruickshank, said: “Due to timely interventions with our partner organisations, fortunately no-one was injured.

“If the illegal gas works had not been found it is likely that the consequences could have been a fire or explosion that could have seriously injured or killed staff and members of the public.