yganKO / sHUttERstOcK News Second conviction earns trader jail sentence A Norbury-based trader has become the boroughs first store owner to be handed a prison sentence for selling knives to underage customers. Shakeb Hakime, of Norbury Discount Store, was sentenced to 10weeks jail, suspended for 12 months, after admitting the offence at Croydon Magistrates Court on 12 December. In addition, he was ordered to carry out 100 hours community service, to pay costs of 7,144 and a victim surcharge of 80. The court heard that, during a test-purchasing exercise by Croydon Trading Standards in October 2015, Norbury Discount Store had been the only shop, of seven visited, to sell knives to two 15-yearold volunteers. A member of staff sold the 4.99 five-piece knives and scissors set without asking for proof of age or identity. Hakime had a previous conviction for a similar offence at the same premises in June 2014. He had taken no steps to prevent further underage sales taking place. Following that conviction, trading standards officers in person and in writing had invited Hakime and his staff on three occasions to attend free Do You Pass? training courses on the sale of age-restricted goods. Neither he nor his staff attended, nor were any in-store systems put in place to prevent further underage sales from taking place. Sentencing, District Judge Rana said that Hakime, as a shopkeeper, has a personal responsibility to prevent the sale of items to under-18s, and to ensure that his staff are properly trained. He said: You were given the opportunity to attend free training, but you declined to attend or to send your staff to the free training, and you declined to put any system in place to prevent underage sales occurring. You also failed to ensure that you had proper signage in place. Knives are extremely dangerous to those who are under 18. Acustodial sentence is justified. not going down the drain manufacturers and retailers after work on an agreed standard had stalled. Consensus was reached on the need for better labelling for all products whether they are flushable or not and all parties have offered support to a campaign to educate customers that the toilet is not a bin. Supermarkets and retailers have also pledged to stop selling cotton buds with plastic sticks by the end of 2017, and a consultation to ban microbeads in cosmetics and personal care products has been launched. It aims to change legislation by October 2017 to stop billions of pieces of plastic ending up in our seas each year. Ra2stUdIO / sHUttERstOcK Wet-wipe manufacturers, retailers, trade bodies and water-industry officials have taken a major step forwards in their efforts to reach an agreement on a flushablity standard for wipes. At a meeting in December, Thrse Coffey, Secretary of State for the Environment, called for joined-up action from industry, Money mules more likely to be aged under 30 Fraud prevention service Cifas has released new figures showing that young people committed nearly 40,000 misuse of facility frauds in the first nine months of 2016. Cifas found 39,362 misuse of facility frauds had been perpetrated by those aged under 30. This compares with 27,861 committed by 31- to 50-year-olds, which represents 38 per cent of this type of fraud. There has been an increase in offences committed in both age groups compared with 2015, with the under-30 figure going up by 948 cases and the one for the older age group by 1,593. Misuse of facility fraud is where an account, policy or product is misused by the genuine account holder. The most common example is when a person allows their bank account to be used to facilitate the movement of criminal funds. Often described as a money mule, individuals commit fraud by moving money through their own account and then to a third party, who is usually located in another country. Other examples of this type of fraud include: selling access to your bank account; knowingly making a payment that will bounce; or opening credit cards, retail accounts or mobile phone contracts when you have no intention of honouring the credit agreements. Simon Dukes, Cifas chief executive, said: Our figures show that young people are disproportionately at risk of this type of fraud. They could end up with a fraud record it isnt worth it. Commander Chris Greany of City of London Police, who is national coordinator for economic crime, said: Criminals use money mules in anattempt to conceal or launder the money they have stolen from victims whose lives have often been irreparably damaged. The consequences of committing misuse of facility fraud includes the risk of a conviction for money laundering, which carries a maximum prison term of 14 years. Additionally, it could affect future applications for a mortgage, credit cards, mobile phones and student loans. Poundworld guilty of selling faulty phone-charger kits Giant discount retailer Poundworld has been ordered to pay a 166,000 fine, a statutory charge of 120, 21,314 in prosecution costs and 2,615 in expert fees after selling thousands of faulty phone-charger kits with forged safety-test certificates to consumers in the UK. In handing down a written sentence on 5 December, Judge Richard Williams said Poundworld Retail failed to exercise due diligence in testing and certifying products it imported into the EU from China, and paid only lip service to essential testing procedures. More than 72,000 charger kits are known to have been sold by Poundworld at its Discount UK/Bargain Buys stores. With no evidence to show how many it has successfully recalled, Judge Williams said it was reasonable to presume that a substantial number of them remain in use, presenting a significant material risk of fire or electric shock to consumers. Carmarthenshire Trading Standards brought the prosecution against Poundworld after carrying out routine test-purchasing exercises at its Llanelli store during March and April 2015.