EXCLUSIVE



The operators of one of Melbourne's best-known Chinese restaurants, the Red Emperor in Southbank, have pleaded guilty to multiple charges after it was found last year infested with cockroaches, mouse droppings and fruit flies.

The state of the fine dining venue with a 20-year reputation for hosting international guests and conferences was so bad that owner Lihua Gao voluntarily shut its doors the day before City of Melbourne health inspectors ordered it closed because it posed an immediate risk to the public.

Cooked chickens hanging from shelving at Red Emperor, as pictured in photographs shown to the court.

Melbourne Magistrates Court heard on Thursday that numerous examples of breaches of the Food Act were noted during inspections on May 19 and 20 that included the presence of live and dead cockroaches and their faeces, mouse droppings and large numbers of fruit flies.

Prosecutor Sebastian Reid told the court that the inspection followed a complaint by a customer "about an adverse reaction" to food bought at the restaurant.