Judge criticises council over £50,000 case

Council bosses who spent more than £50,000 investigating and prosecuting a couple who ran a dirty Chinese restaurant were today grilled by a judge.

Norwich Crown Court heard that King's Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council spent nearly £30,000 of those costs on a barrister.

Judge Peter Jacobs said the inquiry into the Szechuan Inn Restaurant in Downham Market, Norfolk, was not "complicated" and such costs were "not in tune" with the public mood - especially in the wake of Tuesday's Budget statement by the Government.

Yoonh Wong, 31, and Elsie Ong, 28, who ran the restaurant, had admitted a string of hygiene offences after council environmental health officers found rat droppings, the court heard.

They are due to be sentenced at a later hearing.

Neither turned up for today's hearing - the court was told that council officials had experienced particular difficulty tracking Wong - and a warrant may be issued for their arrest.

The council said it was seeking £54,403 costs - including £29,121 for fees for prosecuting barrister Colm Lyons.

Judge Jacobs told Mr Lyons: "I am not sure that these sort of costs are in tune with the public mood after what I had to read and listen to in common with the rest of us on Tuesday."

He questioned whether the inquiry could be classed as "specialist" and said barristers representing Wong and Ong would each pocket no more than around £2,000 for their work.

"With due respect, this is not specialist work. If this were a complicated tax fraud or complicated health and safety case I could see it," added the judge, who said he used to live in the King's Lynn and West Norfolk borough.

"But this is not complicated. This is rat droppings in a kitchen and two very evasive people."

The judge is due to announce what portion of the council's costs Wong and Ong must pay when he passes sentence.