A restaurant owner in North Yorkshire, England was found guilty of manslaughter May 23 and sentenced to six years in jail for serving a chicken tikka masala laced with peanuts to a customer who had severe nut allergies and died from eating the meal.
Mohammed Zaman, 52, owner of six restaurants in
Paul Wilson, 38 at the time of his death in January, 2014, had specified “no nuts” when he placed his takeaway order. His mother, Margaret Wilson said her son was meticulous about avoiding peanuts, after he had a severe reaction at the age of seven while eating a chocolate bar.
When he discovered he was ingesting peanuts in his chicken tikka masala, Paul Wilson tried to make himself throw up, according to court testimony. But it was too late.
Zaman — once worth $2.5 million —began to cut back and used cheaper ingredients after accruing debts of approximately $450,000. During the trial, jurors heard that the restaurateur continued to use peanut powder after another customer just three weeks earlier had complained of getting sick and had to be hospitalized after eating his chicken tikka masala.
In his testimony, Zaman claimed he was not responsible and
had allowed his managers at the restaurants to make decisions about the
ingredients they used. The father of four — who came to England from Bangladesh
at the age of 15 and worked at his uncle’s restaurants before building his own
chain — was found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence and six food
safety offenses. He was cleared of a charge of perverting the course of
justice. North Yorkshire police claimed that Zaman had lied throughout his
interviews with police, and sought to distance himself from
"I feel robbed that I won't share the rest of my life with Paul"," Keith Wilson — Paul’s father — told the BBC.