Restaurant Boss Jailed For Manslaughter After Allergic Customer Died From Nut Curry
An Indian restaurant owner has been jailed for six years for the manslaughter of a customer who died after having a reaction to a curry containing nuts.
Paul Wilson, 38, pictured, was “meticulous” about his allergy and asked for no nuts when he ordered a chicken tikka masala takeaway from the Indian Garden, Easingwold, North Yorkshire.
A jury found Mohammed Zaman, 52, of Huntington, guilty of manslaughter after a trial at Teesside Crown Court.
The prosecution said the restaurant owner had a “cavalier attitude" and had “put profit before safety” by swapping almond powder in recipes for a cheaper groundnut mix.
Mr Wilson died in January 2014. (SWNS)
Mr Wilson, a bar manager, was found slumped in the toilet at his home in Helperby in January 2014 having died from a severe anaphylactic shock.
His parents said that just a mouthful of the contaminated curry would have been enough to kill their son, who first suffered an allergic reaction to peanuts aged seven.
His mother Margaret and father Keith, from Sheffield, said even the smell of nuts, or accidentally drinking from the same glass as someone who was eating them, could trigger a reaction.
Mrs Wilson said: “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.”
A jury found Mohammed Zaman, 52, of Huntington, guilty of manslaughter (SWNS)
She added: “He was always very, very careful whenever he was out in a restaurant or working.”
Mr Wilson said: “We wouldn’t want any other parents to go through this.”
The prosecution alleged Zaman, who owned six restaurants in York and North Yorkshire, was almost £300,000 in debt and cut costs by using the cheaper ingredient and by employing untrained, illegal workers.
Richard Wright QC said: “Mohammed Zaman received numerous warnings that he was putting his customers’ health, and potentially their lives, at risk.
"Tragically for Paul Wilson, Zaman took none of those opportunities and ignored all of the warnings he was given.
"His was a reckless and cavalier attitude to risk and one that we, the prosecution, would describe as grossly negligent.”
Mr Wilson died three weeks after a teenaged customer at another of Zaman’s restaurants suffered an allergic reaction which required hospital treatment.
(Credit: PA)
