Inspector wanted $1,400 from eatery, court told

December 3, 2009 
Peter Small , Toronto Star
COURTS BUREAU 

Yanhui Lu says she didn't believe Kerry Wong was a real health inspector. 

A real inspector wouldn't suggest paying $1,400 to make a $2,500 food safety ticket
go away at the bar she and her husband owned on Weston Rd., she said.

"A real health inspector is a good job. He didn't have to extort this little money,"
she testified Wednesday through a Mandarin interpreter.

Wong, 44, is charged with two counts of extortion for allegedly trying to get $1,400
from Lu and her husband, Hong Hai Kang, on July 25, 2007.

Wong lost his job with the city of Toronto after he was charged.

Lu said her husband told her the inspector had come around and found some problems,
then issued them a $2,500 ticket and promised to come back to re-inspect. 

She didn't feel their Weston Sports Bar and Café, in a plaza north of Albion Rd.,
was in bad condition. Other inspectors had helped them correct their problems and
didn't issue fines, Lu said.

"I thought this health inspector is a troublemaker."

When Wong returned, he made a quick inspection and issued a green card to show they
had passed, but explained they still had a $2,500 fine, she said. The couple told
him they would fight it in court.

"He told us if we go to court we are going to lose the licence," Lu told Crown
prosecutor Melisa Montemurro. "He said the fine would increase to $25,000." 

Wong added that they would have a bad record and wouldn't be able to sell their
business, Lu said. 

She didn't believe him. "I thought it was impossible, because Canada is a very fair
country," said Lu, who was an accountant in China before coming to Canada.

Wong told the couple he knew a "Chinese girl" downtown who inputs all the tickets
into a computer, she said. He told them his friend could put a ticket at the bottom
of the pile, and not process it for 40 days, after which it would automatically
expire, she told Ontario Superior Court. 

"He told us he will ask the girl to help," she said. "I was feeling that he was
telling us a lie."

Lu said she tried calling the health department a few times to check out Wong, but
couldn't get through.

The following week Wong called and said the girl could help them, she recalled. The
couple decided that when they met Wong they would secretly record the conversation.

They agreed that if he asked for money she would make it look as if she was leaving
for their bank but would really phone police.

As they expected, Wong asked for $1,400 for the girl, Lu said. "He asked me to put
the money in an envelope."

Lu said she left, as planned, and called police. They arrived shortly after Wong
drove away, she said. 

Under cross-examination by defence lawyer Daniel Kirby, Lu agreed that her bar had
once been convicted of having a drunk on the premises. 

Kirby produced documents showing that Wong had inspected the bar the previous month
and found several infractions, including dirty washrooms and dirty kitchen floors. 

Kirby suggested Wong gave them a yellow conditional pass card to put in their window
and later issued them a green "pass" card after he returned to re-inspect. Lu said
all she remembers is the final pass.

"He explained to you at that time if you keep your place clean and keep it the way
it's supposed to be there will be no problem?" Kirby suggested

"I don't remember his exact words," Lu replied.

Daniel Bartlett, the officer who responded to Lu's call, said he saw Wong return a
short time later, slowly drive toward the bar, and then park. 

"I approached the driver's side. He appears to me to be extremely nervous," Bartlett
said. "His hands were shaking."

Bartlett said his police partner came out of the bar with the recording the couple
had made, remarking that it contained a reference to $1,400. 

Wong told the officers that the bar owners could have altered the recording,
Bartlett testified. 

"He said he was warning them they had to clean up or they would get more fines ...
He said that he was giving them a deal by not giving them several more tickets."

The trial continues Thursday. 

Toronto Star