Indian restaurant owner jailed for six years for killing customer with curry

Paul Wilson had asked for a chicken tikka masala with 'no nuts', but his curry had been cooked with a ground nut mix containing peanuts

Restaurant owner Mohammed Zaman (right) leaves Teesside Crown Court, he is accused of the manslaughter of a customer who suffered a fatal allergic reaction to peanuts after eating a takeaway curry (PA)

The owner of an Indian restaurant has been jailed for six years after he was convicted of killing a customer with a nut allergy by supplying him with a takeaway containing peanuts.

Mohammed Zaman, 53, the owner of Indian Garden in Easingwold, was convicted of Paul Wilson's manslaughter following a trial at Teesside Crown Court.

Mr Wilson, 38, had asked for a chicken tikka masala with “no nuts”, but the curry he was given had been cooked with a ground nut mix containing peanuts.

He was given the curry despite the request being clearly marked on the lid of his meal.

The prosecution claimed Zaman, from Huntington, York, switched from almond powder to the cheaper nut mix in order to cut costs.

The court heard that Zaman, who is said to have almost £300,000 of business debts, took a “reckless and cavalier attitude to risk” and “put profit before safety”.

Potential cure for peanut allergy

Mr Wilson, a bar manager, had a fatal anaphylactic shock at his home in Helperby, North Yorkshire, in January 2014.

He died three weeks after a teenage customer at another of Zaman's six restaurants suffered an allergic reaction which required hospital treatment.

Zaman was found guilty of all charges except perverting course of justice.

The case is thought to be a legal first which sets a precedent for food suppliers.

Additional reporting by Press Association