By Vanessa Cavasinni, editor Australian Hotelier
The former licensee and crowd controller of the Central Hotel have pleaded guilty of liquor licence breaches.
PP Hotel Investments Pty Ltd, who held the licence for Central Hotel in Bundaberg last year, plead guilty to two counts of contravening licences and one of permitting an unduly intoxicated person to consumer liquor on the premises. John Wimbus, the former crowd controller, also plead guilty to the latter charge.
Central Hotel is now under new operators.
The charges were laid after the Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation (OLGR) conducted a covert operation at Central Hotel in March 2016.
“During their inspection OLGR officers observed a patron displaying clear signs of being unduly intoxicated and behaving inappropriately,” said an OLGR spokesperson.
“Officers also observed a security provider standing in close proximity to the offending patron without attempting to intervene and address the patron’s intoxication and bad behaviour.
“During the covert inspection, OLGR officers also noted patrons entering or re-entering the premises after the conditioned lock-out time of 1:30am.”
The spokesperson also stated that further investigations found that the licensee’s policies and procedures in regards to intoxication were insufficient.
Having plead guilty, the fines and court costs handed to PP Hotel Investments and John Wimbus totalled $14,750.
“This is a timely reminder to licensees to ensure their staff training procedures are thorough and up-to-date,” stated the OLGR spokesperson.