RESTAURANT owners were fined more than £44,000 after risking employees’ lives.

Staff at China Palace were discovered sleeping in 12 rooms above the restaurant in Chapel Road, Worthing, after a police tip-off.

Inspectors found fire doors propped open and equipment blocking escape routes.

Magistrates said China Palace Worthing Ltd exposed residents of the rooms to a “serious risk of loss of life” when the firm appeared at Worthing Magistrates’ Court.

The firm pleaded guilty to four breaches of the Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations.

Worthing Borough Council officials inspected the restaurant in July last year and discovered the rooms on the upper floor.

After finding fire risks and untested fire detection systems, the council served a prohibition order demanding the restaurant make repairs.

West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service inspectors found firefighting equipment in the rooms had not been maintained.

But a second inspection in December last year found “no substantive improvements” had been made.

Magistrates fined China Palace Worthing Ltd £44,226 for the four offences after it pleaded guilty.

They noted the firm had “exposed people living at the property to a serious risk of loss of life for more than six months with very little activity in relation to repairs”.

Council customer services chief Councillor Heather Mercer said the case was a warning to companies housing staff in similar conditions.

“We take very seriously the right of everyone in this borough to live in safe accommodation,” she said.

“Let this be a warning to anyone else who would house people in such conditions that we will not hesitate to prosecute you.

“I want to congratulate the members of our private sector housing team for their diligence and dedication.”

A Worthing Borough Council spokesman said: “The substantial fine and showed that the courts had recognised the seriousness of the offences.”