Chinese restaurant busted selling beer without proper liquor licence

9s Food on Sturt Street pleaded guilty in the Ballarat Magistrates Court on Monday, after it sold alcohol on its premises last year while only holding a BYO license for wine.

The court heard that inspectors from the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation (VCGLR) visited the restaurant at 8pm on June 23 2018, and purchased a meal.

A proseuctor from the VCGLR said while in the eatery, the inspectors observed a male and female patron with a child purchase and consume two Tsing Tao beers, priced at $7.50 each. The inspectors completed their meal and left, but later returned and photographed a variety of beers in the fridge.

On July 20, the store's proprietor was interviewed and admitted to selling the beers, because a friend told her they could actually sell beer but not wine under the BYO license, which was incorrect. The business owner said she only sold "a couple of boxes" over three weeks and had applied for a full cafe and restaurant liquor license, but hadn't heard back from the VCGLR.

The court heard that on 5 September last year, an extended liquor license was granted to the restaurant.

Defence lawyer David Tamanika told the court when confronted by investigators, his client was "open and honest" about selling the beer. He argued that a conviction could hamper the restaurant's ability to re-apply for the liquor license in the future.

The VCGLR prosecutor said the maximum penalty under the Liquor Control Reform Act for such a breach was two years imprisonment or a fine of around $36,000, but he'd never seen a case "where it approached that".

Magistrate Gregory Robinson sentenced 9s Food to a $500 fine without conviction.

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