The owner of a Barking beauty salon has been given a three-month suspended sentence and has been ordered to pay fines and costs of over £10,000, after he was caught selling banned cosmetic products.
47 year old Cameroonian - Augustin Koloko, the sole director of Koloko Cosmetics Ltd T/A Supreme White Beauty Salon and Spa in East Street, Barking, was taken to court by the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, following a referral from the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
Supreme White
Supreme White
MHRA became aware of the issue when a Consultant Dermatologist at St Bartholomew’s Hospital attended to a patient with skin damage.
A test purchase revealed that a product on sale at Supreme White contained 4.7% hydroquinone – a prohibited substance in the United Kingdom. This was despite Trading Standards providing comprehensive advice for businesses on the matter a few months earlier.
As a result, the salon’s premises were visited in September last year and 675 cosmetic products were seized because of labelling irregularities.
Koloko Cosmetics Ltd T/A Supreme White and Mr Koloko were charged with two counts of failing to act with due care, by making cosmetic products available which did not conform with requirements, as laid out in the Cosmetic Product Enforcement Regulations 2013.
Mr Koloko attended Barkingside Magistrates’ Court on 18 August 2017, where he pled guilty to both counts. He did claim that there were mitigating circumstances however – namely that he was just a retailer and could not be held responsible for the products he sold.
The magistrates stated that he had a responsibility to check the products in question. Mr Koloko therefore received a three-month custodial term, suspended for 18 months.
Supreme White were fined £4000 and ordered to pay costs to the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham of £6516.50.
Councillor Laila Butt, Cabinet Member for Enforcement and Community Safety, was pleased with the verdict: “This prosecution once again sends out a clear message – cosmetic products that contain banned substances can be dangerous and can be extremely damaging,” she said.
“We welcome and support businesses in the borough but they are expected to act in a way and manner that is socially responsible. Shopkeepers should be vigilant and ensure that the products they are stocking comply with any rules and regulations, or face the consequences.”