Bracknell shopkeeper and seller convicted for selling alcohol to 15 year old
Mr Deep Singh, of Beechwood Avenue, Hayes, was convicted at Reading Magistrates’ Court on 13 May 2022 together with his employee Mr Harpal Singh of Regina Road, Southall, after both pleaded guilty to the offence.
Mr Deep Singh, as shop proprietor, was ordered to pay £616 in fines, victim’s surcharges and prosecution costs. Mr Harpal Singh, as the seller, was fined £73 though also had to pay towards victim’s surcharge and costs.
Both were prosecuted following an operation by officers from the Public Protection Partnership (PPP) supported by the Joint Case Management Unit.
On 23rd September 2021, at 18:45 hours, volunteers aged under 18 with PPP officers entered Great Hollands Off Licence at 10 Great Hollands Square, Bracknell, RG12 8UX. One of the volunteers picked up a can of Pimms with lemonade, went to counter and was able to buy it. No attempt was made to ask for any proof of age or any form of ID by the seller.
In mitigation, Mr Singh said since the incident he had brought a new till which would prompt a seller with certain products to ask for ID for anyone appearing to be under 25. He had also retrained his staff and put things in place so it won’t happen again.
Commenting on the case Cllr John Harrison, Chairman of the Joint Public Protection Committee said, “This prosecution shows that licensed premises operators need to be very careful that they aren’t selling alcohol to underage customers. The penalties can be much larger than any profit to be made from risking the sale and shopkeepers can ultimately end up losing their licence to sell alcohol if they do not prevent sales to minors.”
PPP routinely checks supermarkets, shops and off licenses for compliance with legislation. In this case, they were checking for sale of alcohol to a person under the age of 18, but they will also check for things like blades, fireworks, and other age restricted products as well as food inspections, health and safety, etc.
