Bar owner hit with fine
THE owner of a Townsville bar has been fined thousands of dollars for misleading liquor regulators, providing false documents and breaching his licence to serve alcohol.
Joshua Michael Sinnott, 34, faced Townsville Magistrates Court on Tuesday where he pleaded guilty to 10 offences linked to his now shuttered Flinders St bar.
Sinnott was the sole director of the company that held the liquor licence for the Kryptic Lounge Bar & Restaurant, the court was told.
His charges include using a licensed premise for prohibited businesses, making false or misleading statements, failing to take reasonable steps to stop or prevent an offence and not complying with orders for a licenced premises.
Kryptic closed its doors in January when no buyers came forward to take over the venue following a period of poor trade during the Covid pandemic.
Sinnott sold alcohol as the principal activity of the venue, which breached his liquor licence which required him to serve food and meals, the court was told. The 34-year-old manipulated the bar’s point-ofsale terminal so that drinks would be entered into the system as food items to hide the quantity of alcohol that was being sold.
He failed to provide records when requested by the Office of Liquor And Gaming Regulation and gave the regulator false documents about the sale of alcohol at the venue.
The court was told his offending spanned 12 months between July 2020 to July 2021
Defence barrister Darrin Robertson said his client, who has no criminal history, was young and naive when he took on the responsibility of running a licenced premise at just 28 years old.
Mr Robertson said Sinnott’s personal and business lives “imploded” in 2021 as the bar’s viability spiralled.
“He has zero intention of ever getting back into this industry again,” he said.
“The bars at times makes good money, other times it makes no money.”
Although Sinnott still holds the liquor licence Mr Robertson said it would expire in June and that the 34-year-old has relocated to Cairns where he had taken over a car washing business with hopes to turn his life around.
Magistrate Scott Luxton accepted the offending was out of character for Sinnott but said a punishment that deterred other would-be offenders was important.
“Regulations are in place to prevent alcohol being sold in unauthorised ways,” he said.
“To minimise the potential for alcohol-fuelled violence, anti-social behaviour and to protect the community in general.
“There is a need for deterrence … so that the message is sent out to the wider community that those who hold such licences ensure they do comply with all of the requirements.”
Sinnott was fined $10,000. No conviction was recorded.