A policeman, in uniform, forced an an elderly couple from Johannesburg to pay R75 for a meal they say they couldn’t eat at a seafood restaurant in Kwazulu-Natal. They were told to either pay – or be arrested. Legal experts, with whom LiquorWise concurs, say that the SAP should never have been called to settle a civil dispute between the parties. The SAP should only act in case of a possible criminal offence having been committed or threatened to be committed. The KZN Liquor Act does not apply in such cases, but the legislation ruling criminal offences do. The couple said they were “horrified” by the abuse they allegedly received after they had complained about the quality of the food to the management of the Crayfish Inn restaurant in Ramsgate, They were allegedly verbally abused by the managers and were forced to pay for a meal that had been overcooked and dry. The couple, the Stiffs, visited the restaurant three weeks ago while holidaying on the South Coast. “Fran ordered a main course of grilled dorado. However… her dorado was overcooked and dried out.” Stiff claimed the co-owner flew into a temper on hearing their complaints. “He then told my wife and I that regardless of whether we ate the fish or not, we would pay for the fish, which cost around R75.” The couple stood up and headed for the front door but were blocked by another of the restaurant owners. “He pushed me around and told me to go back to my table and pay for what I had ordered. There was nothing I could do as I am 78 and I am on crutches, so I was defenceless,” said Peter Stiff. The owners summoned the police, who told the couple to pay for the meal they had ordered or be arrested. The owners of the Crayfish Inn confirmed they’d called the police after the couple refused to pay for their meal. “Neither the staff nor management laid a hand on the couple,” said manager Johnson Shou. “Neither did we verbally abuse either of them.” Shou said the couple had complained consistently from the moment they sat down. Although she said that the restaurant had attended to every complaint and offered them free meals, they just refused to pay. “If the consumers felt threatened or were abused in any way by the police they can report this to the Independent Complaints Directorate,” said Bianca Coelho Barata of law firm Goldman Judin Inc. Barata urged consumers to report restaurants to the National Consumer Forum should they be unhappy with the treatment they receive. Ramsgate police did not respond to numerous requests for comment. (Article by Independent on Saturday, edited by LiquorWise)

Premier Zweli Mkhize has signed off the new liquor act. This has been met with mixed reaction. Those who want the legal drinking age to be increased to 21 are dissatisfied because the act increases trading hours of liquor stores by allowing them to trade on Sundays. They say this will cancel any positive effect which an increase in the legal drinking age may bring about. Traders generally welcome the act, but are not sure that the increased trading hours will make a real difference to their bottomline. Some commented that they will have to bear the costs of extra wages and other overheads, while not expecting a substantial increase in sales. Communities will have a much greater chance to provide input as the act provides for the advertisement of applications in local newspapers, as well as participation via local representatives.