Gold Coast Court releases photos of dirty Bangkok Thai kitchen in December 2015
A GOLD Coast restaurant owner yesterday hired a top-flight barrister to hide these photos from the public.
The Gold Coast Bulletin can now reveal the images of the kitchen at Mermaid Beach eatery Bangkok Thai, taken on December 17, 2015, after they were released for publication by the Southport Magistrates Court.
They depict mould, dirt, grime and food waste in a chest freezer and cool room as it was found by council inspectors at the restaurant’s kitchen.
The condition of the kitchen on that date led to restaurant proprietor Vinya Chantra and the company of which he is a director, Chantra Enterprises, being charged with three counts each of failing to comply with food standards codes.
Chantra was last month fined $2995 for the breaches, while Chantra Enterprises was separately fined $14,725 for what Magistrate John Costanzo described as a “gross level of filth”.
Chantra’s barrister, Ronald Frigo, yesterday opposed a Gold Coast Bulletin application for the photographs to be released. The newspaper was ordered to file written submissions in the court registry and yesterday attended a three-hour hearing over the matter.
The Bulletin argued the release of photographs was in the public interest.
Mr Frigo said a Gold Coast Bulletin journalist was unable to represent the newspaper in court because it was not a legal entity.
He also argued the application was invalid as only a director of Gold Coast Publications, the owner of the Gold Coast Bulletin, or a lawyer could apply for the release of exhibits in court, not a “lay advocate”.
In a sworn affidavit, Chantra, the president of the Thai Association of Queensland, said the media had already got their “pound of flesh” from him and his business.
However, Mr Costanzo found a Bulletin journalist could apply for the photographs as a representative of the company.
He said the legislation, which governs applications for exhibits, did not only “envisage” directors or lawyers applying to the court for the release of exhibits.
“Reporters can make applications,” he said.
Mr Frigo then told the court the Gold Coast Bulletin had failed to write a fair and accurate report of his client’s court case, which was finalised on May 23.
The barrister went through an article published on the newspaper’s website and told the court the publication of the charges was incorrect.
However, Mr Costanzo confirmed that the Gold Coast Bulletin had accurately reported the charges.
He allowed photos of the kitchen, taken in December 2015, be released and said it was up to the audience to “make their own judgment” about the restaurant.
Mr Costanzo said the “commercial embarrassment” to the restaurant owner was “self-induced” by his failure to comply with food safety regulations.
In saying “the public have a right to know” whether there are “sufficient efforts” to ensure “cleanliness” in eating establishments, he concluded the Gold Coast Bulletin’s reporting was “fair and accurate with limited print space”.