Oldham restaurant director fined £7,616 after cockroach infestation

A former Oldham restaurant director has been hit with a £7,616 fine after health inspectors discovered his kitchen was infested with cockroaches. Sajjadur Aziz Malik, who ran The Cottage Indian restaurant in Howley, pleaded guilty to 11 food safety offences after inspectors found live and dead cockroaches throughout the food preparation and storage areas.

The restaurant, which operated from the historic Cromwell's Cottage building on Church Street, received a zero-star food hygiene rating in July 2024. By the end of the year, it had closed its doors to the public. Inspectors found cockroaches in refrigerators, freezers, chillers, and even in a food preparation bowl, along with poor cleaning standards and inadequate hand-washing facilities.

Malik, of Werneth Crescent, initially failed to attend court on two occasions, leading to a warrant for his arrest. When he finally surrendered, magistrates ordered him to pay £2,769 in fines, £3,739 in court costs, and a £1,108 victim surcharge. His company, Samco Spice Ltd, was also fined £420.

The building has since reopened as Flaver's, a new Indian restaurant that has earned a five-star food hygiene rating and 4.9 stars on TripAdvisor. The stark contrast between the two establishments highlights the serious nature of the violations that led to The Cottage's closure.