By Mark Andrews
Copyright expressandstar
Jay Indian House, in Hagley Road, was fined £10,000 when the case was heard at Wolverhampton Crown Court last week.
The business’s director, Jahaingir Hussain, was fined £1,600 fine and ordered to pay £3,836 costs.
The company and director had previously entered guilty pleas at Dudley Magistrates’ Court on April 16, 2025, where the district judge ruled that he did not have sufficient powers to pass sentence.
The court was told that during an inspection visit on July 19, 2023, officers discovered a rat in the ground-floor food storeroom.
Rat droppings were also found in both the ground floor and first-floor food storerooms.
There was a large accumulation of waste in the rear yard, pest-proofing was inadequate, and the food-safety management system was not being properly implemented, the court was told.
Due to the immediate risk to public health, the council exercised emergency powers under the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013, and the business was closed.
After the sentence, Councillor Phil Atkins, cabinet member for development and regulation, said: “This case highlights the serious consequences of failing to meet basic food hygiene standards. The presence of a rat in a food storage area is completely unacceptable and posed a significant risk to public health.
“Our environmental health officers acted swiftly and decisively to protect the public, and I commend their professionalism. We will always take firm action against businesses that disregard their legal responsibilities and put people at risk and our legal team presented a strong case at court leading to this level of sentencing.
“I hope this serves as a clear reminder to all food businesses that maintaining high standards of cleanliness and pest control is not optional—it’s the law.”
The business was allowed to reopen after officers confirmed that all necessary cleaning and pest control measures had been completed and that there was no evidence of ongoing pest activity.
In addition, the company and director were ordered to pay a Victim Surcharge.
The premises has since closed.
