Two mobile courts yesterday sent two people to three months imprisonment, and collected Tk 4 lakh in fines from food producers and traders for selling products without expiry dates and for illegal occupation of footpaths in different parts of the city.

The government recently formed the mobile courts to control the adulteration of foods following a series of reports in The Daily Star.

A mobile court led by magistrate ABM Abdul Fattha raided five food producers and restaurants in Uttara and collected Tk 1,20,000. The court fined Tk 30,000 to Rajlokkhi food industry for not displaying the manufacturing and expiry date on the label.

The court also fined to Tk 20,000 to Bismillah Sweetmeat, Tk 20,000 to fast food shop Hot Dely, and Tk 20,000 to Swad Restaurant for failing to maintain hygienic standards. The court also fined Uttara Model Restaurant Tk 30,000 for failing to properly preserve their uncooked meat.

Another mobile court led by Zahangir Alam raided the Dholai khal area and collected Tk 1,32,000 from 14 illegal footpath occupiers.

Later the court raided Shahid Faruq road in northern Jatrabari, where they collected Tk one lakh from two people and sent them to vigorous imprisonment for selling food items lacking manufacturing and expiry dates.

The court also fined Rafiqul Islam, the owner of Sonali Traders from the same area, Tk 50,000 for selling cosmetics items without expiry dates.

Chittagong Mobile Court

A mobile court yesterday sent two people to three-days' imprisonment and seized an illegal edible oil factory, issuing an arrest warrant against its owner.

The court also fined Tk 21,100 to 12 businesses.

Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) magistrate Syeda Sarwar Jahan found the edible oil factory named 'Sun City Consumer Products Ltd' near Foy's Lake area and sealed it for running without a BSTI license. She also issued a warrant against Shah Alam, the owner, in his absence.

The factory, located at a secluded place near Foy's Lake, had long been manufacturing and marketing unsafe soybean and mustard oil, course and salt with the brand name 'Energy.'

"Local people had no idea of such an illegal factory at their area and they knew it as a poultry firm," the magistrate told journalists.

BSTI field officer Aslamd Sheik said the owner earlier applied for a license for Sun City but the food watchdog authority disapproved the appeal for lack of desired quality of the company's products.

"Yet, the owner has continued his illegal business," Aslam said.

The court sentenced Lake View hotel manager Liton Barua and USTC Cafe manager Milon to three days imprisonment and fined them Tk 3,000 each for mixing harmful colours with food and for having a dirty kitchen. Magistrate Sarwar Jahan also sentenced the two to another seven-days' jail in default of payment.

Some students of the University of Science and Technology, Chittagong (USTC), being informed of the mobile court presence, approached the magistrate and requested her to have a glance of their canteen.

Magistrate Sarwar Jahan then went to the spot and found its kitchen dirty and unhygienic. She instantly threw away all the cooked meat, much to the rejoice of the students.

Among others, the court levied penalties on Shahjalal Sweets, Ocean Fast Food, Chittagong Hotel and Restaurant, Shah Amanat Store at Khulshi area and Chandrima Mukta Mahbub hotel at Baropool area.