A noisy late-night bar in East Putney has been heavily fined after allowing punters to smoke inside, serving oversized measures and playing loud karaoke music late into the night.

Sue Karaoke Bar, in Upper Richmond Road, was fined more than £8,000 after admitting numerous licensing breaches including only allowing customers to purchase a full bottle of whisky at £100 a time.

Licensing laws insist bars must offer customers traditional short measures if they buy spirits.

It also failed to maintain the bar’s CCTV system in proper working order and did not keeping proper membership records.

South Western magistrates heard this week that the bar catered mainly for Korean clients and local residents living nearby had complained to Wandsworth Council about late night noise from the premises.

When environmental health officers visited the bar they found its customers belting out karaoke numbers, a strong smell of smoke, ashtrays full of cigarette ends and packets of cigarettes and lighters on tables in the bar’s private booths.

Councillor Martin D Johnson, chairman of the council’s regulatory licensing committee, said: "This has been a very expensive lesson for Mr Cho’s business, which has shown scant regard for the welfare of its neighbours and chosen to flout many of the conditions of its license."

Seung Cho, director of parent company Coco Futures Limited, also failed to use a sound limiter that was specified under the terms of his licence that would have prevented the bar’s amplified music from rising beyond acceptable volume levels.

In total Coco Futures Limited pleaded guilty to six offences and was fined £4,380 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £120 plus the council’s costs of £3,634.

To report licensing breaches call 020 8871 6160 or email licensing@wandsworth.gov.uk.

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