Perth restaurant owner fined $40,000 after children served insect repellent
A former Perth restaurateur has been handed a $40,000 penalty after two young girls were served citronella torch oil instead of cranberry juice at his establishment, in a food safety failure a magistrate described as a serious breach of operator accountability.
Michele Angiuli, 35, the former owner of now closed Miky's Italian Fusion in the inner-suburb of Crawley, was found guilty of selling unsafe food in the Perth Magistrates Court on Tuesday. The fine was split equally between Angiuli personally and his company.
The incident occurred in June 2024, when sisters Hannah Lemin, 12, and Olivia, 11, were dining with their parents Marcus and Michele when they were inadvertently served a pink-coloured citronella lamp oil solution by a bartender who had been employed at the venue for just two weeks. The girls were hospitalised at Perth Children's Hospital and Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and later discharged after several hours of observation. Neither suffered permanent physical harm.
The family described the moment they realised something was wrong. "My daughters just went to gulp it down, and they both spat the cranberry juice out and said, 'It's poisoned,'" Michele Lemin said. "I said, 'Don't be silly,' and took the glass, and I went to gulp it down and then spat it out."
Marcus Lemin said staff initially stonewalled his attempts to identify the substance.
"He took the bottle [out of the fridge] and placed it under the counter," Mr Lemin said. "That's when I sort of said, 'No, you need to give me the bottle, I need to see what it is.'"
The children's mother described the physical toll on her daughters: "My daughters' … stomachs were burning, their fingers and hands were tingling. They had a headache … it was awful." She added: "We're lucky that the children weren't younger. If they were younger children that this happened to, I'd hate to think what would have happened."
Magistrate Donna Webb found Angiuli had failed to exercise due diligence, noting the business lacked food safety supervisors and staff with proper certifications — deficiencies that persisted despite repeated reminders. She also found his evidence lacked credibility, noting he had initially lied and disposed of the bottles involved.
While the defence argued the bartender's actions constituted "gross negligence" beyond the owner's control, and presented character references highlighting Angiuli's work as a paramedic, lifeguard and Red Cross volunteer, the magistrate was unmoved on the question of operator responsibility.
"The potential consequences to the complainants in this matter was significant," Magistrate Webb said. "I can't imagine how terrifying it would've been for the parents."
Angiuli, whose Crawley venue was his first restaurant ownership after a career in hospitality in Italy, has since exited the industry and is now working in finance trading.
Speaking outside court, Marcus Lemin framed the outcome in terms of its broader industry implications. "I think the issue for me is more that it drives a bit more rigour in the industry and that we get to a point where maybe business owners in the hospitality industry understand the accountabilities they hold," he said.
A Department of Health investigation was triggered by the incident. Angiuli declined to comment to media following sentencing.
Jonathan Jackson, 4th March 2026
