Following their conviction for distributing dangerous hand sanitizer during the COVID-19 outbreak, a married couple has been called “disgraced.”
The court determined that the case involving Jeewan Sagu, 41, and Rajika Sagu, 36, was so severe that it should be transferred to Birmingham Crown Court for punishment. Jeewan Sagu and Rajika Sagu were found guilty of four offences.
Hundreds of containers that were marketed to contain 80% alcohol but really contained less than 30% alcohol were delivered by Birmingham-based distributors Big Living Ltd.
Jeewan Sagu, who oversaw Big Living’s daily operations, “knew full well the corporation had taken no effort to guarantee that their hand sanitizer was safe,” according to prosecutor Mark Jackson.
According to testimony during the trial, Big Living “manufactured” the hand sanitizer by rebranding it with Sagu’s registered trademark, Chemist Plus.
According to Mr. Jackson, who was defending Birmingham City Council in court, it is unknown who made the questionable sanitizer.
The Birmingham City Council inquiry, he said, was “deliberately tried to impede and mislead” by Mr. Sagu, who also “prevented authorities from being able to monitor and locate a potentially deadly substance.”
After a customer acquired the hand sanitizer on eBay from a wholesaler who had bought it from Big Living, trading standards were notified.
However, Mr. Sagu claimed the hand gel was provided by another wholesaler when trade standards approached him.
Desktop IT Ltd, a company in and of itself, was also listed as a director of Big Living and was represented at the hearing by director Robert Hiley.
On the same counts as the criminal pair, the company was also determined to be guilty.
Additional allegations include failing to take measures required by the General Product Safety Regulations and inducing another merchant to participate in a business operation that included deceptive behaviour and deceptive advertising.
It is unfortunate to see a defendant of his origin and upbringing before the court, Mohammed Latif, the defendant’s attorney, said during a sentencing hearing.
He has always taken great satisfaction in his excellent reputation, diligence, honesty, and integrity, all of which would be compromised by the court’s ruling.
He has never been convicted before. He should be ashamed of this.
Adding that “it was a mix of mismanagement, carelessness, and inability to concentrate on what was plainly a crucial component of the inquiry,” Mr. Latif said that Jeewan Sagu did not intentionally deceive trading standards.
Rajika Sagu, the director of other business divisions, had a “limited voice in what would have been a male-dominated corporation,” according to Mr. Latif.
You can understand how an Asian lady would take pleasure in having excellent character, he said.
You could only image the embarrassment that would cause her in both her immediate family and the larger society.
The original maker and/or supplier has never been “satisfactorily identified,” according to District Judge David Wain.
The defence provided to the court favourable character references for the couple that talked of their charitable efforts, but Judge Wain said that these simply served to highlight how shocking their offence was.
The pair will be brought before Birmingham Crown Court, where a judgement will be made at some point in the following month.
“Can I offer tribute to the inquiry,” Judge Wain continued. Despite several obstacles in your path, you were able to solve the mystery and stop the sale of further harmful items.