An Islington man has been prosecuted for importing nearly 1,000 unsafe scooters, e-scooters and e-bikes, as they were found to be non-compliant with UK product safety standards.
Sardar Rassa was two weeks ago handed a six-month custodial sentence, suspended for 12 months, after tests commissioned by Islington Council revealed “serious safety issues” with the imported products.
The shipment was made up of 600 children’s scooters, 140 adult scooters, 180 e-scooters and 54 e-bikes - all of which were deemed to be non-compliant, as a sample failed to pass the council’s tests.
Unsafe e-scooters and e-bikes have in recent years become one of London’s fastest growing fire risks. This is due to the lithium batteries used to power them, which can catch fire or even explode if they have been poorly designed or are not charged safely.
The products imported by Mr Rassa were first flagged at a port in Suffolk in November 2021, when an initial test revealed safety failings. Despite being advised to return the goods to China, Mr Rassa insisted they were legally compliant.
The enforcement authorities released the consignment, which was subsequently moved to a storage facility in Islington.
But once the products had arrived in London, the borough’s trading standards team intervened, and ordered that the stock be suspended until the various products had been shown to be safe. The suspension meant that they could not be moved without informing the council.
According to the borough however, Mr Rassa failed to conduct any product safety testing, contrary to his legal responsibilities.
Testing commissioned by the Labour-run council is said by the authority to have “revealed serious safety issues, ranging from improper labelling to critical component failures, which led to the 243 e-scooters and scooters still in storage being seized by trading standards officers”. It is not known what Mr Rassa did with the remaining stock.
Mr Rassa was sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court on January 6 after pleading guilty - in his capacity as director of Rassa Bikes and Scooters Limited - to 12 offences relating to product safety failings and suspension notice breaches.
Angelo Weekes, the council’s executive member for community safety, said: “Unsafe e-scooters can pose a real danger, and we have zero tolerance for unsafe products in Islington.
“We take tough action to protect our residents and ensure their safety. Thanks to the hard work of our trading standards and legal services teams, this importer has been held to account.”
