Prosecution Details

Being an employer, did not so far as was practicable, provide and maintain a working environment in which its employees were not exposed to hazards and by that failure contravened sections 19(1) and 19A(3) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984.

The Accused was the part owner of a restaurant trading under the registered business name of the Welcome Inn Tea House situated at 354 William Street in Perth.

The Accused has day to day control of the operations of the restaurant.

On 1 November 2007 two Worksafe Inspectors attended the Workplace for the purposes of carrying out an Occupational Safety and Health inspection.  In the course of the inspection, they observed an unguarded commercial dough mixer located in the kitchen of the Workplace on top of a stainless steel bench in the kitchen area, containing flour.

Upon examination the mixer was identified as an electric planetary dough mixer, model no LB201. The mixer was located alongside a walkway where employees were required to pass within less than half a metre, and had been in recent use. The mixer's primary use by the chefs was to mix dough for the making of dim sums for sale in the restaurant.

The unguarded mixer exposed employees to the risk of injury caused by having an arm, hand or fingers become entangled in the moving parts of the mixer.

WorkSafe had visited the Welcome Inn Tea House previously on 6 September 2006 and issued an Improvement Notice regarding the use of the same LB201 mixer without a guard. A compliance slip was subsequently received by WorkSafe in relation to this Notice bearing the name and signature of Mui Kwai Chung.

The Welcome Inn Tea House employed approximately eight persons including casual, part time and cash paid employees.

It was reasonably practicable for the accused to have had a guard fitted to the dough mixer and or decommissioned the dough mixer. 

The accused pleaded guilty.

Convicted