Trading Standards accused of "entrapment"

A shop owner in Staines has accused Trading Standards of entrapment after his Staines store was convicted of selling a knife to a 13-year-old girl last month.

The Herald and News reported that Pratima Patel (corr), who runs P & Q Home Stores in Friends Walk, Staines, was fined £500 plus £140 costs, while her staff member Sagar Mehta (corr) was fined £200 plus £140 costs on October 22, for selling the knife to the teenager without asking for official identification.

But Mrs Patel, 46, who runs five hardware shops with her husband, Sanjay, 48, who she lives with in Kingston, said: "They came in to try to trap us. I have a criminal record now, for what? For selling a knife.

"The kids who go in to crime don't come in to buy knives - they would steal one."

Mr Patel told the Herald and News the shop has since stopped selling knives, and has trained the staff fully on the selling of everything sold at the shop, from liqueur chocolates to screwdrivers.

He said: "If these are the sorts of games Trading Standards are going to play, it's not worth it.

"But people now complain that we don't sell kitchen knives.

"[Mr Mehta] genuinely though the girl was 18. She came in on a busy day, he said he just looked up quickly, the next thing we know, we are criminals."

He added: "People who want to stab someone with a knife are not going to pay for it, they would steal it from me or their parents. It's the culture. It's society's problem, not shopkeepers'."

A spokesman for Surrey County Council's Trading Standards said: "The team went into 14 shops that night and 12 of them refused to sell to the girl, so she clearly did not look older than her age. P&Q did not even ask her age.

"The shop at the time did have numerous customers in it, but there is no requirement for us to go in when there are fewer.

"Volunteers are scrutinised by the team manager before they are deemed as suitable. If they are considered to look over the age they actually are, we don't use them."

Both Mrs Patel and Sagar Mehta admitted selling the 24cm knife to the youngster in April and were convicted at Staines Magistrates' Court on October 22.