An £80,000 fine issued to the licence holder of a takeaway restaurant found to hire illegal workers last year has not yet been paid.
Mr William Cheung, former owner and designated licence holder of Tai Pan Restaurant in Crowthorne, faced a licensing review at Wokingham Borough Council on February 5.
The request was made by the Home Office and Thames Valley Police after an immigration raid found two of the restaurant’s chefs did not have the right to work in the UK in July.
The restaurant was opened in November 2023 by William Cheung, while new owner Chun Timothy Pang took over in September 2024. Mr Pang’s wife, Ashley Pang, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service Mr Cheung is ‘long gone’ and they have no association with him.
Mr Cheung did not attend the licensing and appeals subcommittee after requesting it be postponed from January to secure legal representation.
Alastair Jenkinson, Inspector with South Central Immigration Enforcement told the panel his team ‘does not routinely’ seek a licence review from a local authority, but this was a case where he had ‘heightened concerns’.
His team found in July 2024 two Malaysian males were working as chefs with no right to work in the UK. The individuals, who have not been named, were arrested and taken into immigration custody.
Both men were being paid below minimum wage cash in hand and were given free accommodation. One had been in the UK since 1990, while the other had been in the UK since February 2024.
Inspector Jenkinson said one of the men ‘initially attempted to deceive officers’ by ‘deliberately discarding their apron’.
An £80,000 fine was issued to the business on October 8, 2024, and it remains outstanding, Inspector Jenkinson said.
Gary Clarke from Thames Valley Police said Mr Cheung had employed both individuals ‘from very early days in the restaurant’ and had ‘not taken any responsibility for this’.
The force wanted to see the licence for the restaurant revoked as well as Mr Cheung’s personal licence, which was issued by Spelthorne Borough Council.
Licensing officers said no representation had been received by Mr Cheung, despite postponing the meeting from January to allow him more time.
However, chairwoman of the panel Councillor Beth Rowland said Mr Cheung had expressed he would ‘accept the outcome of the committee’.
Ashley Pang, new owner of the restaurant, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that she was ‘grateful’ for support from Crowthorne residents, and that her husband was applying for his own premises licence.
A final decision of the committee will be published in five working days.
