Sky Blue Restaurant in York could lose licence amid police claims

And now officers are calling on City of York Council to revoke the premises licence of the Sky Blue Restaurant in Barbican Road.

The inquiries relate to an alleged incident at the Chinese restaurant on January 21 this year.

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The unnamed victim says in a police statement she arrived at the venue after 9pm, ordered a single vodka and coke and was not challenged about her age. After several more drinks, she left with friends.

Her statement continued: “I almost felt really drunk but not, I have been drunk before and it didn’t feel like this. I was dizzy and couldn’t keep my head up but I knew I wasn’t drunk. I tried to speak to my friend but my jaw locked and I couldn’t speak.

“My friend said my jaw was swinging and my eyes were all over the place. I can’t remember anything else.”

After being put to bed by her mum, she woke up “really confused".

That afternoon, the girl went to a chemist and tested positive for Benzodiazepines - a type of sedative, a council report says.

Police were contacted, who over several weeks were unable to obtain CCTV footage from the night, in breach of regulations. Other failings included insufficient record keeping and age verification, the report claims.

The report, prepared for a council licensing hearing, also noted the venue “has a chequered history of non-compliance with premise licence conditions".

Previous matters, under a different designated supervisor, included in 2020, when the restaurant was known as The Regency, and its licence was revoked when it was found illegal workers had been employed there on £2 an hour, the report adds.

Following the change in 2021 to Sky Blue, the licence holder became Mr Kheng Khoay, replacing a Mr Man Leung, though the report says he remains in management there, with day-to-day responsibility.

The report continued: “Mr Koay, despite knowing the history of the premises, has failed to take responsibility for the running of the premises and ensuring compliance with the premise licence conditions, allowing unauthorised licensable activities to take place.

“He has shown a blatant disregard for the conditions attached to the premise licence, despite knowing the history of the premises, he has chosen to delegate responsibility or the day-to-day operation of the venue to Mr Leung. Mr Leung was part of the problem management which previously resulted in the revocation of the premises when it operated under 'The Regency'.

The report said Mr Koay gave a signed application to say he was aware of previous issues and would implement new training and management to show he could operate the venue responsibly.

It added: “Given the above failings the police have no confidence in Mr Koay to manage the premises effectively and ensure the licensing objectives are upheld.”

The Northern Echo's sister website, The York Press approached Sky Blue for comment.