Restaurant owner jailed following peanut allergy death

The owner of an Indian restaurant where a customer died eating food containing peanuts has been found guilty of manslaughter and jailed for six years.

Mohammed Kalique Zaman, 53, of Aylesham Court, Huntingdon, York, who owned the Indian Garden takeaway and restaurant in Easingwold, was found guilty by a jury at Teesside Crown Court on Monday, 23 May, following a two-week trial.

He was found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence and six food safety offences, but was cleared of a charge of perverting the course of justice.

Paul Wilson, 38, who was diagnosed as having a severe peanut allergy at the age of seven,

suffered a severe anaphylactic shock in January 2014 after ordering a nut-free meal from the Indian Garden restaurant in North Yorkshire.

His death sparked a joint investigation by North Yorkshire Police and North Yorkshire Trading Standards, which found Zaman – the owner of several other takeaways and restaurants in the York area – was in financial difficulty.

The investigation discovered he had substituted almond powder for groundnut powder – a considerably cheaper product which contained peanuts.

Zaman had already been warned, by both the supplier of the groundnut powder and Trading Standards, after a 16-year-old girl was admitted to hospital for several days after eating a takeaway from the Indian Garden, but he continued to use the powder in his dishes.

The court heard how Zaman was almost £300,000 in debt and cut costs by using the cheaper ingredient and by employing untrained and illegal workers.

The restaurateur had a “reckless and cavalier attitude to risk” and “put profit before safety” at all his outlets, the jury was told.

However, Zaman claimed that he left his managers to run his restaurant and that including ordering stock and hiring staff. He told jurors he was not on the premises when the curry was ordered.

A statement from Wilson’s parents, Margaret and Keith Wilson, read: “We are relieved that justice has been served and Paul can now rest in peace. The death of our only son Paul on 30 January 2014, shattered our world and we are still struggling to come to terms with his death.

“We found out from the early age of seven that Paul had a nut allergy and that made us more aware of food products and their ingredients, even items which stated ‘may contain nuts’ were never purchased.

“Paul’s nut allergy had always played a very important role in his life especially when he started working in the hospitality industry as a chef at the age of 18. Paul was always very particular about the food he ate and would go out of his way to cater for customers with various allergies.

“Nothing can bring Paul back but it is our sincere hope that his death will raise awareness in the food industry so that this never happens again. We also ask anyone with a food allergy to always be aware.”