Walsall convenience store fined after selling alcohol to 16-year-old

Bagi Convenience UK Ltd, trading as Bagi Convenience Store, 180–184 Churchill Road, Bentley, sold four cans of Strongbow cider to a 16-year-old volunteer on Saturday 8 February 2025. 

The case was heard at Dudley Magistrates Court on 20 May 2026, where both the company and Mr Bagi pleaded guilty to offences under Section 146 of the Licensing Act 2003. This resulted in combined fines totalling more than £6,000.   

• The company was fined £1,920, ordered to pay costs of £1,250 and a victim surcharge of £768, totalling £3,938.    
• Mr Bagi was fined £768, ordered to pay costs of £1,250 and a victim surcharge of £307, totalling £2,325.   

The sale was made by a young member of staff and overseen by the company director, Mr Amitpal Singh Bagi, who asked the volunteers if they were 18 but failed to request proof of age before the sale took place. 

The incident took place after the shop had received comprehensive advice on preventing underage sales just one month earlier. This included written guidance, Challenge 25 posters and a refusals register. 

During a formal interview, Mr Bagi stated that the volunteers looked young but said he had only briefly entered the shop and was not prepared to serve at that time. Officers also found there was no clear staff training policy in place and no evidence that a refusals register was being properly used. 

Under the Licensing Act 2003, it is an offence to sell alcohol to anyone under the age of 18. 

ENDS