A cafe owner from Kingston has been slapped with a £2,000 fine for flouting the smoking ban.
Keyvanfari Nima, owner of Ace Cafe in Richmond Road, admitted breaking health and safety rules by using a charcoal burner in a basement and allowing customers to smoke shisha tabacco in an enclosed outdoor smoking shelter.
Nima was fined £500 for each offence and ordered to pay a £15 victim surcharge plus £984.75 costs at Richmond Magistrate's Court.
Councillor Simon James, lead member for trading standards, said: “It is disappointing that this business continued to fail to comply and left the council with little alternative but to prosecute because of concerns about smoking, passive smoking and the potentially fatal consequences of using a charcoal burner."
It is the second time this year the cafe owner has fallen foul of anti-smoking laws, after being fined in April for letting patrons smoke in the cafe basement.
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