MELBOURNE – An Indian takeaway restaurant in Sydney has been slapped with a fine of over 97,000 Australian dollars after health authorities found cockroaches, accumulated grime and dead rats in its kitchen area.
Former owners of King Cross-based restaurant, RR Associates, pleaded guilty to 13 counts of failing to comply with Food Standards Code between December 7 and December 21 in 2011. They were fined a total of 97,500 Australian dollars, according to ABC news report. The report said when inspectors went to the eatery after a customer complaint, they found rat droppings in the service area and cupboards, a dead rat behind a bin and evidence of rat nests. Council officers told Downing Centre Local court that some of the rat faeces was on the floor of the kitchen, in service area and storage cupboards.
Court heard walls, floors and food contact surfaces were crawling with cockroaches. Officers said samosas waiting to be cooked were stored below shelving encrusted with dirt and the kitchen was infested with cockroaches.
