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Takeaway nut curry death: Restaurant owner Mohammed Zaman guilty

A "reckless" restaurant owner has been found guilty of killing a customer who had an allergic reaction to a curry.

Paul Wilson, 38, suffered a severe anaphylactic shock in January 2014 after eating a takeaway containing nuts f-rom the Indian Garden in Easingwold, North Yorkshire.

A jury found Mohammed Zaman, 52, of Huntington, guilty of manslaughter after a trial at Teesside Crown Court.

The court heard he cut corners by using cheaper ingredients containing peanuts.

Zaman, who is due to be sentenced later, denied he was responsible but a jury was told he switched almond powder for a cheaper groundnut mix, which contained peanuts.

Mr Wilson, a bar manager f-rom Helperby, North Yorkshire, specified "no nuts" when he ordered a chicken tikka masala - an instruction which was written on his order and on the lid of his takeaway, the court heard.

'Cavalier attitude'

He died three weeks after a different customer with a nut allergy bought a meal f-rom one of Mr Zaman's six restaurants and had a reaction requiring hospital treatment.

The restaurateur had a "reckless and cavalier attitude to risk" and "put profit before safety" at all his outlets, the jury was told.

Zaman was almost £300,000 in debt and cut costs by using the cheaper nut powder and by employing untrained, illegal workers, the court heard.

He claimed he left managers to run his restaurants and that included ordering stock and hiring staff, telling jurors he was not on the premises when the curry was ordered.

The father-of-four was found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence and six food safety offences. He was cleared of a c-harge of perverting the course of justice.

Author: BBC News

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