The former manager of Replay Karaoke in the south-western Sydney of Bankstown been banned from running a licensed venue for 10 years and fined close to $50,000 over a number of serious licence breaches.
The Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority imposed some of its heaviest sanctions against David Trinh over breaches including selling full bottles of spirits and operating outside approved trading hours.
The ruling follows an investigation by Liquor & Gaming NSW, where undercover inspector attended the venue in April 2017 and observed “a blatant disregard for the responsible service of alcohol”. Those observations included patrons drinking directly from full bottles of spirits and shots being served contrary to licence conditions. A severely intoxicated female patron was also seen unable to stand without assistance, vomiting into a bucket provided by venue staff.
Inspectors were also able to buy a full bottle of whiskey, consume alcohol outside of approved areas and buy two beers after 12am, outside the venue’s approved trading hours.
The venue was shut down for 48 hours in May 2017 and Liquor & Gaming NSW staff sought to secure the venue’s CCTV and alcohol sales data, but Mr Trinh refused to comply.
ILGA has ordered Trinh to pay a $10,000 fine and more than $14,500 in investigation costs. Koi Corp Pty Limited, of which he was sole director, was ordered to pay a $25,000 fine.
Liquor & Gaming NSW director of compliance operations, Sean Goodchild, said the penalty reflects the serious nature of Mr Trinh’s offending.
“As this case shows, venue managers who blatantly flout their licence conditions and put at risk the safety of patrons can expect to face serious consequences,” he said. “Licensees of karaoke bars, which are considered high risk venues, should understand they do not operate outside of NSW liquor laws,” he said.