Parmit Singh Kapoor, 29, of Hadley Gardens, Southall in London, was convicted at Reading Magistrates on 26 July this year after pleading guilty to selling a bottle of Kopparberg cider to a 15-year-old at BB Wines in Broad Street.
In November last year, officers from the Public Protection Partnership (PPP) were conducting a routine underage sales operation when they entered the Wokingham town centre store with an underage volunteer working on its behalf.
The 15-year-old volunteer selected the bottle of cider and took it to the till. Kapoor was the only staff member in the store at the time and was on the phone, but he did interrupt his call to sell the alcohol. Kapoor did not ask the teenager for identification or make any attempt to verify their age.
The case was prosecuted by the Public Protection Partnership’s Joint Case Management Unit. Accepting guilt, Kapoor said he was on the phone with his sister who was very upset. Kapoor was fined £100 and ordered to pay £200 towards prosecution costs plus a £30 victim’s surcharge.
“It’s important that those who sell alcohol or indeed any age restricted product remain vigilant at all times,” said Cllr Parry Batth, Wokingham Borough Council’s executive member for environment and leisure.
“We will continue to carry out exercises of this nature as part of our comprehensive approach to age restricted sales enforcement.”
The PPP is a shared trading standards, environmental health and licensing service between Wokingham Borough Council, Bracknell Forest Council and West Berkshire Council.
If you have concerns about age restricted sales, please contact 01635 519930 or email: tsadvice@westberks.gov.uk.
For general licensing queries in the Wokingham Borough, call (01635) 519 184 or email: licensing@westberks.gov.uk.
