The debt-ridden owner of an Indian restaurant killed a customer by serving him a meal that he knew contained potentially lethal peanut power, a British court heard recently.

As reported by Britain’s The Telegraph, Mohammed Zaman, 53, who had hired illegal workers in his take-out restaurant, substituted almond powder with cheaper ground nut mix, which contained peanuts, as a way of containing costs, lawyers told jurors. But in doing so, Zaman allegedly failed to warn customers of the change, and pub manager Paul Wilson, 38, who suffers from a severe peanut allergy, died later at his home after eating a curry with the cheaper, peanut-laced ingredient.

The Telegraph noted also that both the waiter who took the order and the chef who prepared the food were in violation of the country’s immigration laws and were illegally employed by Zaman.

Less than a month after Wilson’s death, on 3 Jan, 2014, a student named Ruby Scott, 17, who suffered from the same severe peanut allergy, fell extremely ill with anaphylaxis – a sudden, severe allergic reaction – but was rescued by being rushed to the hospital and injected with epinephrine.

Later, her mother called the restaurant, The Jaipur in Easingwold, North Yorks, to inquire whether the food – Chicken Korma – contained any peanuts but she was told it did not and as such was safe for peanut allergy sufferers.

Despite a death and a close call, however, jurors were told that Zaman failed to act and instead continued to sell meals including the cheaper, peanut-containing ingredient though he continued to assure customers that it was safe for anyone suffering the allergy.

The Telegraph reported further:

Paul Wilson was killed by the curry he bought at The Indian Garden restaurant, also in Easingwold, on January 30th 2014, despite clearly stating “no nuts” – an order that was written on the lid of his takeaway meal, Teesside Crown Court heard. 

Prosecutor Richard Wright, QC, told the court Zaman cut corners to save cash.

After Ruby fell ill trading standards investigators bought a meal from one of Zaman’s restaurants and discovered potentially lethal doses of peanuts.

Even the day after Paul Wilson died Zaman was still selling meals containing peanuts that purported to be safe for allergy sufferers, the court was told.

“We say Paul Wilson did what he always did and ordered no nuts in clear and simple terms,” Wright said.

“There was no confusion here. Instead there was a business in which corners were being cut for the sake of profits, systems were non-existent and the customer was constantly exposed to danger,” he continued.

“There is no doubt at all that the curry he ate, the lid of which bore the legend ‘no nuts,’ contained peanuts and that the peanuts caused his death by way of an allergic reaction to eating them,” Wright noted. “An analysis of the curry recovered from the plate in the kitchen of Paul Wilson’s home also demonstrated that peanuts had killed him. Less than three grams of the sauce from the curry would have been sufficient to give rise to the level of peanut in the stomach.”

The paper said Wilson discovered he had a peanut allergy when he was seven years old after eating a candy bar that contained peanuts. He was found dead by a roommate slumped in the bathroom of their home in Helperby, North Yorks, with fresh blood around his nose and mouth.

Wright said Zaman deliberately cut corners to save money because he was running his business at a loss. As his debts mounted he met with his Blackburn-based food supplier, Fakir Chilwan, in June 2013, and asked him to replace the almond powder with the ground nut powder, which was half the cost, the prosecution stated.

Source:

Telegraph.co.uk

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