Lewis v Juniper Restaurant [2012] NZLLA 667 (12 June 2012)

Last Updated: 17 July 2012

[2012] NZLLA 667-668

IN THE MATTER of the Sale of Liquor Act 1989

AND

IN THE MATTER of an application pursuant to s.132 of the Act for suspension or cancellation of on-licence number 049/ON/144/2010 issued to SHEN HOLDINGS LIMITED in respect of premises situated at 142 Featherston Street, Wellington, known as "Juniper Restaurant"

AND

IN THE MATTER of an application pursuant to s.135 of the Act for suspension of General Manager’s Certificate number 049/GM/416/2011 issued to IVY YI-WEN SHEN

BETWEEN JOHN ROBERTSON LEWIS

(Police Officer of Wellington)

Applicant

AND SHEN HOLDINGS LIMITED

First respondent

AND IVY YI-WEN SHEN

Second respondent

BEFORE THE LIQUOR LICENSING AUTHORITY

Quorum: Mr P M McHaffie
Ms J D Moorhead

DECISION

We have before us applications by Sergeant J R Lewis of Wellington Police dated 29 May 2012, for suspension or cancellation of an on-licence and for suspension of a General Manager’s Certificate.

The grounds for the applications are: that the premises have been conducted in breach of the provisions of the following sections of the Act:

(i) Section 166 – sale of liquor to intoxicated persons; and
(ii) Section 167 – allowing persons to become intoxicated in licensed premises; and

and that the conduct of the manager has been such as to show that she is not a suitable person to hold the certificate.

On Saturday 4 February 2012 a female patron entered with friends licensed premises known as “Juniper Restaurant”. She drank wine from about 1.00 pm and was found ‘passed out’ in a male toilet cubicle in the premises at about 12.30 am on Sunday 5 February. The patron was unresponsive to attempts to rouse her and her clothing was in a state of disarray. She was taken to hospital by ambulance.

Police subsequently conducted an investigation into the incident to ascertain whether any sexual assault may have occurred but made little progress because the female had little or no recall of the events earlier in the evening.

The Police also located an extremely intoxicated male in the premises who had also been drinking for a significant period of time. He described events later in the evening as ‘pretty fuzzy’.

The Police application states that the premises have previously been well managed, but this incident is regarded as serious and the second respondent who, in her alter ego, is also the licensee, does not dispute the grounds for the applications. She has agreed to suspension of the on-licence and her manager’s certificate. Accordingly, we make the following orders by consent:

(a) On-licence number 049/ON/144/2010, issued to Shen Holdings Limited, is suspended for 48 hours from 7.00 am on Saturday 21 July 2012.

(b) General Manager’s Certificate number 049/GM/416/2011, issued to Ivy Yi-Wen Shen, is suspended for three weeks from Monday 23 July 2012.

DATED at WELLINGTON this 12th day of June 2012

B M Holmes
Secretary

Juniper & Ivy Shen.doc(ab)