A Glen Huntly restaurant has been closed down and given a record fine after cigarette butts, mouse droppings, pests and filthy utensils were found in the kitchen. Last week, Glen Eira Council successfully prosecuted the owners of New Canton Chinese Restaurant in Glen Huntly Rd, with the magistrate ordering a $265,000 fine— the biggest in the area. Dandenong Magistrate Stephen Raleigh, who asked if it was possible to jail the negligent owners, said he hoped the fine would shut down the operators for ever. “(The owners are) closed, finished, bankrupt and . . . the severity of these fines will save someone’s life,” he said. But Glen Eira Council is furious the Department of Human Services put locals at risk by allowing the restaurant to operate for as long as it did, even allowing owners to re-open after ordering they shut down for Food Act breaches. On Friday night, the department served a closure order on the restaurant —after they’d opened on Thursday following the Wednesday court outcome. Herald Sun, December 10.
Dec 19
