A lap dancing club has been forced to shut after police laid bare a catalogue of failures.
Documented problems at The Mask on Bridge Street, Aberdeen, stretch back 17 months – and the final straw came after an alleged assault inside the club at 1.10am on February 24.
A man suffered a fractured jaw which may lead to him being permanently disfigured.
Two members of staff have been charged with assault and one of them has been charged with hindering police by failing to allow them to view CCTV.
After the alleged incident, police imposed a four-month closure order.
That was due to expire yesterday, so police asked Aberdeen City Council’s licencing board to revoke its licence and the board voted to do so at its meeting on Wednesday.
Mask now has 28 days to appeal.
On its website, The Mask boasts “up-scale discrete adult entertainment in an intimate, sumptuous interior”.
According to police, staff have been accused of overcharging for dances, watering down drinks and encouraging intoxicated customers to take up dances.
There were also concerns the club was breaching licensing conditions by having no personal licenceholder present after 1am as well as no one being able to operate the CCTV.
Police were also informed that the club’s pubwatch radio link had been broken for three months.
Police said they were “of the view there is a likelihood of disorder on the premises”.
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However, The Mask’s personal licence holder Eric Chong rejected the allegations.
Mr Chong said: “The allegations of overcharging, watering down drinks and encouraging people to take up dances are untrue.
“They originally came from one customer who complained because he had forgotten to pay his bill. He later wrote to us to apologise.
“The alleged assault is an ongoing legal matter and so I cannot comment on that. However, the people were not employed directly by The Mask. They were from a contract company.
“We have always adhered to the terms and conditions and have been open for 10 years. The vast majority of that time has been without incident. We have a working CCTV system and have always provided police with any footage they have requested. At the moment, the club has a leak and so we are not in a position to open.
“However, we want to appoint a designated premises supervisor and fulfil all the requirements of the council and the police and we hope to reopen when possible.”
According to the Crown Office, two men, aged 29 and 25, appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court on March 7 in connection with the alleged assault.
They have not yet entered a plea and no further date has been set.
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