THE owner of a Cwmbran curry house was fined more than £600 for 22 breaches of food hygiene and health and safety laws.

Mohammed Badsha Miah, who runs the Tamarind restaurant on Blenheim Road in St Dials, was fined £625 at Cwmbran magistrates court on Thursday after he was found guilty of 14 charges relating to food hygiene and health and safety laws between September 2009 and March 2010.

Miah, 37, of Chepstow Road, Langstone, Newport, had already pleaded guilty to eight further offences.

He was found not guilty of one charge of not permitting good food hygiene practises, including protecting against pest control.

During a two-day trial earlier this month, the court heard how environmental health officers from Torfaen council had found yoghurt in the cellar of Miah's restaurant, where the temperature was 16.2 degrees Celsius despite storage instructions stating it should be stored at 5 degrees Celsius.

He was also found guilty of failing to cool Tandoori chicken as quickly as possible after cooking, and of failing to keep the premises clean.

Sentencing him at Cwmbran magistrates court, magistrates chairman Brian White said he accepted that these were "low level" breaches, but that Miah had been made aware of similar offences over a number of years and still failed to rectify the situation.

Mr White said that since the charges had been brought, "considerable improvements" had been made at the Tamarind and the restaurant now had a four star rating.

Defending Miah, Roger James said he was a hard working entrepreneur who opened his first restaurant at the age of 18.

He added that the case had had a "disastrous" effect on Miah, whose trade has dropped 40 per cent as a result of publicity from the case.

Magistrates also ordered Miah to pay £1,750 in costs, and a £15 victim surcharge.

Speaking after the case, Miah said he planned to appeal some of the convictions.

MIAH told the magistrates during the trial last week that he felt he had to keep senior environmental health inspector Lewis Smith happy.

Miah said that he therefore felt forced to lie during his cautioned interview with Mr Smith and so admitted some of the allegations because he was worried about what would happen.

Miah told the court that Mr Smith had suggested they go into business together and that Mr Smith was a regular customer who received a 20 per cent discount.

Giving evidence last week, Miah also claimed that Mr Smith had questioned why he had failed to attend a food hygiene course arranged by Torfaen council.

Mr Smith explained to the court how the Food Standards Agency Wales made grant money available to local authorities to raise awareness of how to comply with requriments and to put in place the food safety management system.

He said the Tamarind had been sent an invitation but that Miah did not take up the offer.

Miah said he had every intention of going but that his daughter was ill in hospital.

When asked about the boxes of prawns and frozen chicken found during an inspection on the cellar floor, which was used as a food storage area, Miah said they had been delivered at about 4.30pm shortly before the environmental health inspector’s visit.

Mr Smith said he watched employees find some freezer space for the items.

The magistrates also heard how Miah had spent a lot of money on the restaurant since the period of charges.

Mr Smith had said how the restaurant had improved and that there had been a big turn around when he inspected the restaurant in September last year.

Environmental health expert Tony Creasy also said how he was impressed by the restaurant when he visited it in August last year and was not surprised that Mr Smith had recently awarded it four stars.