King Tea Chinese: Popular restaurant in Brisbane is fined more than $20,000 over 'revolting' discovery

A trendy Chinese restaurant has been fined after council inspectors made 'revolting' discoveries of mould and rodent faeces in the kitchen.

An officer from Brisbane City Council was sent to King Tea Chinese restaurant in Paddington on September 6, 2022, after Queensland Health received a complaint of rats in the restaurant.

The officer found rodent droppings, rodenticide, mould and a number of other food safety breaches which led to 10 charges of failing to take all responsible steps to ensure compliance to the Food Act.

The restaurant's parent company Livin La Vida Latroba Pty Ltd and general manager, Dane Huitfeldt, plead guilty to all charges in Brisbane Magistrates Court last week.

The company was fined $23,000 while Huitfeldt was fined $2,500 for the breaches which presiding Magistrate, Julian Noud, described as 'simply revolting'. 

Council prosecutor, Amye Fairbairn, told the court that while there was an 'active risk' of mould contamination, the presence of rodent dropping was the 'most serious risk'. 

'(Faeces were) found in multiple places around the premises, including both in food preparation areas, storage areas and in the dining areas,' Ms Fairbarn said, the Courier Mail reports.

Defence solicitor, Adam Dwyer, said his clients were 'embarrassed and remorseful' over the state of the kitchen.

The court heard that Huitfeldt runs four other restaurants and had an 'exemplary' record having never drawn the attention of council prior to the September inspection.

Mr Dwyer said his client had been left 'in a bad situation because of the negligence and the inability to do the job that he paid someone very well to do'.

Despite weekly meeting being held between himself and various managers, the state of the business was 'never conveyed' to Huitfeldt. 

'Huitfeldt accepts the fact that ultimately it’s his responsibility to ensure compliance and then ultimately, all of this falls within his area of responsibility.

'But clearly the person that he employed to manage this business had let things go.'

Magistrate Noud said all citizens deserve to enjoy eating at a restaurant while being 'protected from getting unwell'.

He noted they have a 'very good prospects of rehabilitation' and had taken the incident to change how the business is operated.

'The defendant understands the serious consequences of his offending and has importantly taken steps to ensure that at least for him, it doesn’t happen again in the future,' Magistrate Noud said.

No convictions were recorded for either defendant.