Owner of Adelaide cockroach-ridden pizzeria escapes serious punishment as she’s bankrupt

Owner of cockroach-infested pizzeria ESCAPES serious punishment for filthy store because she’s ‘a bankrupt single mum with three kids on Centrelink’

  • Bankrupt ex-operator of a cockroach-infested pizzeria has escaped serious fines 
  • Food inspectors discovered liquefied vegetables and mould at Adelaide pizzeria
  • Restaurant’s operator Cecille Yalung was given a two-year good behaviour bond
  • Ordered to pay $5,250 but escaped further fines as it would cause her ‘hardship’


The owner of a filthy cockroach-infested pizzeria has escaped $280,000 in fines after a court heard she was a bankrupt mother-of-three living off Centrelink.

Food inspectors discovered liquefied vegetables, mould-ridden produce, and raw chicken in an open container at Cici’s Pizza Kitchen in Hindmarsh, Adelaide, in 2019.

The restaurant’s operator Cecille Yalung, 32, was on Monday sentenced to a two-year good behaviour bond after pleading guilty to charges including 17 counts of failing to comply with food standards regulations.

The single mum was ordered to pay her council $5,250 but avoided further fines after a magistrate ruled they would cause her and her children ‘hardship’.

Food inspectors discovered a cockroach infestation, liquefied vegetables and mould-ridden produce at Cici’s Pizza Kitchen in Hindmarsh in Adelaide’s inner-city in 2019

Pictured: The mould-ridden food found by council inspectors. The restaurant's operator Cecille Yalung, 32, was on Monday sentenced to a two-year good behaviour bond

Pictured: The mould-ridden food found by council inspectors. The restaurant’s operator Cecille Yalung, 32, was on Monday sentenced to a two-year good behaviour bond

Magistrate Simon Smart said she would clearly be unable to pay the $280,000 in fines he could have applied.

‘I’m concerned… of your extremely limited capacity to pay a fine,’ he said, according to NCA NewsWire.

‘Any other persons in this situation could expect a substantial fine, but from what I know of your financial situation, you will struggle to pay the fine and you and the children will likely suffer hardship.’ 

Yalung – a Filipino whose children are all under five – was also banned from selling or supplying food to the public under the terms of her bond.

She no longer has any involvement with the pizzeria, which is under new ownership.

The 32-year-old was declared bankrupt in February 2020. 

Inspectors were first tipped off about the restaurant’s hygiene practices after a customer complained about finding a staple inside their pizza in July 2019.

The pizzeria has since been renamed Hindmarsh Pizza Bar and now has new owners. Yalung avoided further fines after a magistrate ruled they would cause her and her children 'hardship'

The pizzeria has since been renamed Hindmarsh Pizza Bar and now has new owners. Yalung avoided further fines after a magistrate ruled they would cause her and her children ‘hardship’

When they arrived, food safety officials found the pizzeria infested with cockroaches with no running hot water or soap on the premises. 

The court heard the pizzeria’s cold storage room was also so dirty it could not be cleaned properly. 

Yalung was ordered to stop selling or handling food on July 13 of that year but completed another 51 orders over the next two days, Adelaide Magistrates Court heard.

The court heard she was also chose to ignore nine improvement notices between 2016 and 2018.    

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