Chicken shop owner shamed in court

What’s in a name? It was an empty promise in the case of the Fab Fried Chicken shop of Whitechapel – which is why company director Mohammed Abdul Basit, aged 51, of Woodyates Road, Lewisham was fined £1,000 for hygiene breaches and ordered to pay £1,000 costs and £60 in respect of a victim surcharge. Mr Basit pleaded guilty to five offences under Regulation 19 of the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013 when he appeared at Thames Magistrates’ Court on 5th November.

That all sounds very bland, but the details of Mr Basit’s criminal neglect are scandalous. During a routine visit by Tower Hamlets Council’s Environmental Health team in July 2014, inspectors found cockroaches throughout the premises. Cockroaches and nymphs (young insects which will grow into adult cockroaches) were found behind fridges, and cockroach droppings were found underneath them. Nymphs and cockroaches were also found running along the floor, walls, food containers and in cupboards. Dead insects and cockroach shells were also found in various places, including next to the food storage area.

That’s bad enough, isn’t it? No, apparently this was not enough for the careless Mr Basit. Inspectors found rats above the food premises and evidence that they had been running throughout the premises. Furniture was smothered with rat hair and a hole in the skirting board had been bored by vermin. An empty food container and carpet had been gnawed by rats, and a dead rat was found next door to the kitchen.

Cllr Ayas Miah, Cabinet member for Environment and one of the Cabinet Members who did not speak at the Cabinet’s last meeting, spoke out on this occasion, saying: “The council take breaches of food safety very seriously, especially when they are extreme cases such as this. We remind all food retailers of the importance of hygiene, and will take enforcement action when retailers are in breach of the law.”

A decomposing rat was also found by council inspectors

When they made their discoveries, Tower Hamlets inspectors closed down the premises immediately. It was only allowed to resume trading once inspectors were satisfied that the place was clean and would stay that way.  Mr Basit, who had been appointed a director of Fab Fried Chicken Ltd of 131 New Road, E1 1HJ, in September 2008, resigned as a director in September 2014, and a new director was appointed.

People who live and work in Tower Hamlets will be grateful to Tower Hamlets Environmental Health team for acting quickly to protect the eating public – it’s not a pleasant job. As for Mr Basit, we can only hope that he is truly ashamed, feels the hole in his pocket – and stays out of the food industry or any other line of work involving having respect for fellow citizens.

•If you suspect a business to be falling foul of food hygiene legislation, contact the council on 020 7364 5008 or email: foodsafety@towerhamlets.gov.uk.

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