Mohammed Abdul Kuddus and Harun Rashid, the owner and manager respectively of Royal Spice in Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, were convicted of manslaughter after a 15-year-old girl died of an allergic reaction to an Indian takeaway. Megan Lee fell ill immediately after eating the meal from the hotel on 30 December 2016. She suffered irreversible brain damage from an asthma attack due to her nut allergy and died two days later on New Year’s Day 2017.
Kuddus and Rashid were found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence by a jury at Manchester Crown Court. The judge, Mrs Justice Yip, warned the pair that they would face jail term when they return to court for sentencing on 7 November. The court heard that one of Megan’s friends ordered the meal of an onion bhaji from the restaurant. In the comments and note section there was no mention of presence of peanut in the meal. The meal was later found to have “widespread presence” of peanut protein.
Following Megan’s death the restaurant was closed down by the authorities. It has since reopened under new ownership. The jurors heard that the restaurant kitchen was lacking in hygiene and no records of ingredients. Rashid was convicted of manslaughter, failing to discharge a general duty of employers under the Health and Safety at Work Act and breaching European Union food safety regulations. He claimed he was merely a delivery driver at the restaurant at the time. Kuddus was convicted of manslaughter. He had already pleaded guilty to the two other charges on behalf of himself and of the Royal Spice Takeaway Ltd.
Megan’s parents Adam and Gemma Lee said: “Our lives will never be the same. The loss of our beautiful daughter has completely devastated us. Whilst we may have received some justice with today’s verdicts, we live in hope that result is a warning to other food businesses operating in such a deplorable and ignorant manner to learn from this and improve their standards with immediate effect.”
