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Rodney MP Mark Mitchell says that around 18 months ago two employees from Masala in Stanmore Bay came to him independently saying they had had their passports taken from them by management. “They were told that this was so that their visas could be processed, but nothing was done,” Mr Mitchell says. “It flagged very poor management practices for me, so I sent that information higher up the chain.”
Last month Justice Rebecca Edwards released her decision, made last December, to allow Police to freeze property owned by companies associated with Masala, saying “there were reasonable grounds to believe that the group had been involved in significant criminal activity”. It is understood that the assets include properties in Whangaparaoa.
Both the Stanmore Bay Cottage premises where Masala operates, at 195 Brightside Road, and a house nearby, at 124 Stanmore Bay Road, are owned by JKK Holdings, which is the second respondent in the High Court case. Sole director of JKK Holdings, Supinder Singh, is the tenth respondent in those proceedings.
Licensing issues emerge
It has also emerged that Masala in Stanmore Bay operated with a D Food Grade for three months last year (from August until November). Auckland Council’s environmental health manager, Mervyn Chetty, says this was upgraded to B, after the company re-applied, on November 13.
Currently, the restaurant has no liquor licence after its renewal was opposed by a group of neighbouring residents.
The Auckland District Licensing Committee heard the application to renew the licence last December. Council’s licensing and compliance services general manager, Grant Barnes, says the committee took the highly unusual step of refusing to renew the licence, after determining that the applicant, One Hospitality Limited, and its director/shareholder Supinder Singh were not suitable to continue to hold a licence. “The committee determined that, based on the evidence before them, Mr Singh had been ‘…somewhat mendacious’ in his evidence,” Mr Barnes says.
The liquor licence is not all that has been concerning neighbours, who say they have had ongoing issues with traffic and parking, noise such as extractor fans late at night and “funny smells” including burning plastic. They say that poor maintenance on both the restaurant and nearby house owned by JKK Holdings, including the dumping of rubbish that attracts rats, is a big concern. During the licensing hearing, one resident said that people had been living in an out building at the rear of the restaurant.
As the investigation is ongoing, Police will not comment at this stage. Hibiscus Matters was unable to contact Mr Singh.
