Nut allergy death: Curry house owner found guilty of manslaughter in UK

London, May 23

A Bangladeshi-origin owner of a curry house in northern England was today found guilty of manslaughter after a man with a severe nut allergy died as a result of dining at his restaurant.

Mohammed Zaman had denied manslaughter by gross negligence, perverting the course of justice and six food safety offences in relation to the death of 38-year-old Paul Wilson.

But a jury today found Zaman (53) guilty of all charges except perverting course of justice after a trial at Teesside Crown Court.

Lawyers for the prosecution told the court that Zaman had been "reckless" and replaced almond powder with groundnut mix, made from peanuts, to cut costs at the restaurants he owned.

Wilson had a fatal anaphylactic shock at his home in Helperby, North Yorkshire, in January 2014.

He died three weeks after a teenage customer at another of Zaman's six restaurants suffered an allergic reaction, which required hospital treatment.

Prosecutor Richard Wright said: "His was a reckless and cavalier attitude to risk and one that we, the prosecution, would describe as grossly negligent.

"Time and again he ignored the danger and did not protect his customers. The evidence will establish that Mohammed Zaman put profit before safety and that he cut corners at every turn."

The court was also told that Zaman was almost £300,000 in debt and cut costs by using the cheaper nut powder and by employing untrained, illegal workers.

UK trading standards officer Rob Blacklock said, "They were just totally slack about what they were doing in the business because I guess they thought nothing like that would ever happen.

"If you go to a restaurant, you don't expect to die from eating a meal. It's important owners have the right procedures, buy the right ingredients and employ the right staff to make up the meals."

Zaman’s restaurant is called Indian Garden, a popular trend among Bangladeshi-origin restaurateurs to cash in on the popularity of Indian food in the UK.

Wilson's parents, Margaret and Keith, said their son was "meticulous" about dealing with nuts after had a reaction to a chocolate bar at the age of seven.

"Nothing can bring Paul back but it is our sincere hope that his death will raise awareness in the food industry so this never happens again. We also ask anyone with a food allergy to always be aware," his mother said. — PTI