China Ark Supermarket, Mile End fined for knife sale to child

China Ark Supermarket, in Mile End Road, sold a cleaver to a 15-year-old during an undercover test carried out by Tower Hamlets Council’s trading standards team, supported by the Metropolitan Police, on September 13, 2024.

Thames Magistrates’ Court heard that the knife was sold by a shop assistant without any attempt to check the customer’s age.

Cllr Abu Talha Chowdhury, cabinet member for public protection and integrated enforcement at Tower Hamlets Council, said: “We are committed to protecting the health and safety of our young people so it is crucial to crack down on this activity which can contribute to crime in our communities and harm so many lives.

“Our trading standards officers take a proactive approach to disrupt illegal trading and these prosecutions send a clear message that we will not tolerate businesses which are flouting the law.”

Further investigations revealed additional illegal activity at the shop.

Illegal alcohol and vapes were seized from the shop (Image: Tower Hamlets Council) On September 27, 2024, trading standards officers were able to purchase alcohol from the premises, despite the store not having a licence.

One of the drinks sold had an alcohol content of 56 per cent.

A follow-up visit on September 30, 2024, led to the seizure of 252 bottles and cans of alcohol and 288 illegal vapes, many of which were labelled in foreign languages and therefore not legal for sale in the UK.

Shop assistant Ning Yang Cao, of Church Road, Barnet, told officers that he did not know the legal age for purchasing knives.

The company running the shop, its director and a shop assistant were sentenced (Image: Tower Hamlets Council)

He admitted to completing the sale even though the child did not answer when asked about their age.

Xiongdi He, director of Asian Food Ltd which owns China Ark Supermarket, said there was no staff training or policy in place for age-restricted sales, no till prompts, and that he believed his father’s personal licence covered alcohol sales at the shop.

He, of Buckle Street, Whitechapel, also admitted to buying vapes from a supplier in Singapore without confirming whether they were legal for sale in the UK.

The trio pleaded guilty to the charges they faced at Thames Magistrates’ Court on June 10, 2025.

Asian Food Ltd, which owns China Ark Supermarket, was fined £22,800, plus a £2,000 victim surcharge and £2,290.11 in costs.

Xiongdi He was fined £4,800, plus a £190 victim surcharge and £2,290.11 in costs.

Ning Yang Cao was fined £576, along with a £230 victim surcharge and £250 in costs.