Boss of takeaway branded the "worst in Wigan" is back in the dock

The Rice Bowl in Newtown and owner Wen Lin hit the headlines last year after pleading guilty to a host of safety breaches which resulted in them facing thousands of pounds in penalties.

A warrant was earlier this year issued for Wen's arrest after he failed to turn up at Wigan and Leigh Magistrates' Court over new charges of failing to comply with an improvement order issued under the Health and Safety at Work Act which required remedial work to be carried out on external electrical power and lighting circuits.

Now having appeared before the bench again, the 33-year-old of Glebe Street, Blackburn, has pleaded guilty to the charge and been given a 12-month conditional discharge. There is also £22 to pay to victim services.

Last September's food safety hearing saw serious failings levelled against the Ormskirk Road premises and its owner.

Pictures taken of the shabby takeaway’s interior revealed unrefrigerated prawns on the side, piles of raw chicken in a sink and disgustingly filthy and fat-clogged work and cooking surfaces.Wen pleaded guilty to the 13 charges levelled against both him and LCC Food Limited.Among other charges against the business were that food was stored in containers previously used for raw meat and that the ceiling in the kitchen was covered in plastic bags.There were shortcomings in staff training, the food preparation areas and equipment were filthy and the business had no food management plan in place, prosecutors also say.One charge read: “Floor surfaces under all work benches, cooking ranges and fridges were covered in extensive dirt, food debris and grease, the storage bins, chipper, open food containers and fridge handles were dirty with food debris and grease, and the heated cabinet, wok range, utensil containers and open food containers were covered in food debris.”Another said that the business “failed to ensure food was protected against contamination likely to render the food unfit for human consumption, injuries to health, or contaminated in such a way that it would be unreasonable to expect it to be consumed in that state, .“In particular there was uncovered raw chicken in the sink, food was stored directly on the yard floor surface, and open containers of food were stored in the kitchen on shelves very close to the wash basin where it could be splashed when staff washed their hands.”

The Rice Bowl faced a fine, costs and victim services surcharge of £1,008.

Lin himself has to pay costs, victim surcharge and a fine totalling £3,816.

By far the biggest contributor to the total was the court costs.

When the original report appeared online it attracted a lot of public comments, with several readers branding the Rice Bowl as “the worst takeaway in Wigan.”

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