A eight-day ban on selling liquor at the Countdown supermarket in Seymour St, Blenheim, began yesterday after the store was caught selling alcohol to a minor during a controlled purchasing operation.
The suspension started at 7am yesterday and finishes at 7am on February 10.
The moratorium also comes at the same time as the popular Blues, Brews and BBQs festival on February 5.
Luke Schepen, a spokesman for Progressive Enterprises, which owns Countdown supermarkets, said he did not know how much money the store would lose as a result of having its liquor licence suspended.
He could not say what proportion of overall sales at the store were alcohol.
Countdown staff member Robert Bruce Hardy's general manager's certificate was also suspended for four weeks from January 31 in the Liquor Licensing Authority decision released in December.
The Countdown in central Blenheim was caught during an operation in which two volunteers younger than 18 were sent to buy alcohol from 20 stores in Blenheim, Seddon, Renwick, Spring Creek and Picton on June 9.
The supermarket had also been caught selling alcohol to under-18s in June 2006 and March 2008.
When asked whether the company would review its procedures on selling alcohol, Mr Schepen said the company already had "very stringent rules" in all its stores.
"It was unfortunate that they were not adhered to in this case," he said.
Liquor sales at the stores are authorised by the customer service supervisor on duty, who checks customers' ID before approving a sale. Every refusal is put in a log book.
Two other Blenheim outlets were caught during the sting.
Blenheim Liquorland had its licence suspended for 24 hours from 8am yesterday.
Max Lester Barratt's general manager's certificate was suspended for three weeks from January 3.
Tip Top Store owner Xiang Lin admitted selling alcohol without a licence when he appeared in the Blenheim District Court in August. He was fined $400 and ordered to pay $130 court costs.
- The Marlborough Express
SIMON WONG
No comments:
Post a Comment