Brent shop owner fined £2,000 for selling deadly toys

A shop owner has been forced to pay more than £2,000 after selling deadly toys that children could have choked on.

Last Tuesday at Brent Magistrates' Court, Ka Pak Lam, 48, who had a unit called Toko Home in Oriental City in Edgware Road, pleaded guilty to four offences of selling hundreds of dangerous items, including rubber ducks and toy guns.

He had been warned by Brent and Harrow Trading Standards officers in June 2007 that all toys sold in the shop should have the required CE marks on them.

The CE mark should be placed on all toys to show they conform to safety standards.
But when officers returned in December 2007 they discovered their advice had been ignored.

After a thorough search the toys were seized and examined by safety experts.
Worryingly, they found that all the toys examined contained small parts and sharp edges that presented serious hazards to children.

During the investigation Mr Lam, who is from Barnet, attended a formal tape recorded interview, in which he stated he had used his limited company to directly import toys from Japan into the UK.

He was fined £800 and ordered to pay a further £1,343 in prosecution costs.

Bill Bilon, director of Brent and Harrow Trading Standards Service, said: "I am delighted that the courts have sent such a strong message and have recognised the importance of protecting vulnerable consumers from harm.

"The protection of children from unsafe goods is a high priority from the service and we will continue to monitor local traders on a regular basis to ensure they are complying with the law."