Under Age Sales

AN AMMANFORD sales assistant has admitted selling cigarettes to an underage person.

Sasikumar Sankaran pleaded guilty at Carmarthen Magistrates Court last week to the offence committed on November 1 last year.

The court was told that the case was part of Operation AMEC – the on-going survey into whether traders are complying with the law on the sale of age-restricted products in Carmarthenshire.

It resulted in the successful test purchases of alcohol and tobacco by one child volunteer at Amman News, 31 Station Road, Tirydail, Ammanford.

The Premises Licence holder (PLH) and Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) Mr Bala Pulendrathasan was not present at the time of the sale.

Carmarthenshire County Council trading standards officers James Lee witnessed the sale and conducted a brief interview under caution with the seller 53-year-old Sasikumar Sankaran, immediately afterwards.

During the initial interview Sankaran said that he had not been trained regarding the sale of alcohol and cigarettes but later changed his story when interviewed for a second time. On this occasion he claimed that he had received full training by Mr Pulendrathasan regarding the sale of age-restricted products to children.

This claim was supported by Mr Pulendrathasan who produced some signed training documents for Sankaran when he attended a taped interview.

Sankaran, of College Street, Ammanford, was fined £225 and ordered to pay £100 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.

Council executive board member for public protection Cllr Jim Jones said: “The county council takes a very serious view of the sale of alcohol to under-18s. The consequences of these sales can be far reaching.

“We are determined to ensure that shops do not sell alcohol, or other age-restricted items, to those who are too young.”