Inspector found leaks, mould and sewage backup at 17th Avenue eatery

A now-defunct southwest restaurant and its two owners began trial Monday on 58 charges under the Public Health Act for unsanitary and unsafe conditions at the restaurant and two suites above the eatery.

Court heard that Oh! Calcutta, and directors Ehsan Ali and Salauddin Choudhury, failed to repair a roof leak, a sewage backup in the basement and other health, safety and maintenance issues between September 2010 and April 2011.

Health inspector Heather Langemann told prosecutor Rob O’neill that she issued an unfit for human habitation order after she found mould inside one suite, and common area exterior stairs leading to the second level were in a state of disrepair and dangerous on Sept. 27, 2010.

Langemann also testified there was a lack of working smoke detectors, none of the bedrooms complied with minimum size requirements for emergency egress, and there was significant water damage from a roof leak in the building at 507 17th Ave. S.W.

Another inspector, Daria Romanish, ordered the restaurant closed on March 21, 2011, and deemed a basement suite was uninhabitable because of the sewer backup. That problem was also affecting the restaurant.

She then found the owners had allowed the upstairs suites to be reoccupied in the face of the order, without any of the repairs being done as required by the order.

It was also noted that Ali had requested a quote to remove asbestos present in the plaster and linoleum, but the contractor stated to inspectors that Ali only wanted to do minimal repairs and to do them as inexpensively as possible.

The trial before provincial court Judge Sharon Van de Veen continues.