Doctor and ex-wife hit with £93,000 bill over rat-infested curry house in Croydon

Dr Mardan Mahmood and Hend Hamude were sentenced for 36 hygiene breaches after a catalogue of appalling failures was uncovered by inspectors at the south London restaurant
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Jamie Bullen11 December 2015

A doctor and his ex-wife have been ordered to pay almost £93,000 after their filthy south London curry house was found infested with rats and cockroaches.

Dr Mardan Mahmood and Hend Hamude were sentenced for 36 offences under food hygiene regulations at the Babylon Inn in Croydon.

They were found to be responsible for a catalogue of “appalling” failures uncovered during inspections dating back to July 2013.

Among the serious breaches were rat droppings found in the kitchen, a mouse in a food preparation area and evidence of a cockroach infestation when a customer spotted an insect while he ate a meal with his daughter.

Cigarette butts were also found littered in the restaurant and a chef was caught smoking in one visit by food standards officers.

The restaurant was closed in July 2013 over safety fears but further inspections uncovered more filthy practices when it was reopened.

Filthy: Babylon Inn
Kake/Flickr

Mahmood, the director of the company that owned Babylon Inn, was fined £35,000 and banned from running a restaurant until a court rescinds the order.

Hamude, who was found to be in charge of running the business although she previously denied doing so, was fined £11,800 while Babylon Inn Ltd was given a £30,000 penalty.

The punishment was handed down at Camberwell Green Magistrates’ Court on Monday.

Croydon Councillor Mark Watson said: "Having previously described the conditions in this restaurant as ‘appalling’, I’m glad to be able to say that the court, through the severe financial penalties it has imposed on all concerned, seems to have agreed with me.

"Additional to the fines imposed, the director of the company has been banned, indefinitely, from running a food business again.

"That’s a decision that offers the public a safeguard against his opening other food outlets that could pose a threat to the health of customers.

"It’s worth pointing out that this case is very much the exception to the rule.

"Croydon does much to promote good, safe and healthy food, and 79 per cent of local food businesses are rated 3 or better in the Food Standards Agency scores-on-the-doors scheme.

"We have plenty of places with good standards, and those not meeting those standards are easily avoided."

Dr Mardan Mahmood reportedly paid £1.7 million in 2011 to buy the former pub in a “prime position” in Croydon town centre and dreamt of making it “one of the nicest buildings” in the area.

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