Shopkeeper prosecuted for selling vodka to 14-year-old

Yogish Patel, the licensee and supervisor at Shirya Stores on Pontarddulais Road, was successfully prosecuted following an investigation by Swansea Council’s trading standards team.

Mr Patel also failed to produce CCTV footage in response to a council request. He was fined £150 for each offence, costs of £2,000 and a victim surcharge of £20 at Swansea Magistrates Court.

The incident was first brought to the trading standards team’s attention by the 14-year-old’s mum on December 19 last year.

Cllr Mark Child, Swansea Council’s Cabinet Member for Healthy City and Wellbeing, said: “We take the sale of alcohol to children very seriously because of the impact it can have on their health, behaviour and performance at school.

“Our trading standards team, as part of a broader campaign in the Gorseinon area to cut down on underage drinking and anti-social behaviour, has invested a lot of time and effort alongside South Wales Police in trying to ensure this shop was fully aware of their obligations. That’s why it was particularly disappointing to hear about this incident.

“Both the teenage girl and her mum were keen to support the prosecution, so we’d like to thank them for their help because it proved invaluable in reaching a successful outcome. Without the support of the public, taking action of this kind can sometimes be difficult. This is especially the case when the traditional method of test purchasing doesn’t work because of canny shopkeepers who are too wary to sell alcohol and tobacco to children they don’t recognise.

“We’d encourage any member of the public who has information about shops selling alcohol and tobacco to children to contact our trading standards team. We’ll continue to be on hand to ensure shops have all the comprehensive guidance they need but we simply won’t tolerate any business that deliberately flouts the law.”

This isn’t the first time Shirya Stores has been in trouble. On June 3, 2011, Mrs Kajai Patel was found guilty of selling a bottle of WKD Original to a 15-year-old, and on August 25, 2010, Mr Patel was found guilty of selling alcohol to 16-year-olds. On that occasion, stricter licensing conditions were introduced so the store had a more robust policy to prevent underage sales.

This followed an earlier incident that resulted in Mr Patel receiving a written warning on December 18, 2009, for selling alcohol to a 16-year-old girl.