What was the first victim of the NSW Government crack-down on serving minors has had its 28-day penalty tripled after being caught selling beer during the suspension.
Temora’s Royal Hotel is reportedly a “quiet pub” according to father and son owners Vojislav and Goran Krstic when PubTIC spoke to them last year about their being caught again for selling to underage persons.
“Our compliance history over the last 20 years hasn’t been perfect, but in general we are a pretty quiet pub. They say you have to check the ID of anyone that looks under 25, and we do,” said Goran.
But while accommodation, food and non-alcoholic beverages could continue trading, the requirement to not sell alcohol or operate the gaming machines proved not so easy to endure and half-way through the 28 days police caught them selling takeaway beer to a patron.
Liquor & Gaming NSW – known as OLGR at the time – had made it clear issuing the punishment that penalisation would compound if venues continue to under-estimate the gravity of the regulations.
After being caught during the ban, L&G NSW lodged a disciplinary complaint, citing the pair’s poor history of compliance and suggesting Vijslav was “not a fit and proper person” to have a liquor licence, and Goran was similarly unsuited to be a close associate of a licensee.
The ILGA (Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority) NSW Board this week accepted a voluntary offer by the men for a three-month suspension of both from holding a liquor licence or being the approved manager of a licensed venue in NSW.
L&G NSW state the Krstics have breached the Liquor Act 30 times, for offences including permitting violent and quarrelsome behaviour, multiple liquor sales to minors and sales during restricted trading days.
In its submission to ILGA, L&G NSW made particular note of the Hotels’ “deliberate attempt to flout the requirements of the law” with the customer required to exit through a rear door “presumably to avoid detection”.
The suspension begins today (1 July), through to 30 September, 2016.
The defendants were ordered to pay L&G NSW’s investigation costs of $7,332.