(BEN BULMER / iNFOnews.ca)

A BC liquor store has been fined $7,000 for serving an underage girl because the distracted clerk who accidentally sold the teen liquor was keeping an eye on a "suspicious" man staring at the girl.

Unbeknownst to the clerk, the "suspicious" man happened to be a liquor inspector and the underage teen, part of a sting operation.

The case involves a Greater Victoria Ma Miller’s Liquor Store, a seven-year employee aged between 60 and 70 with a strong work ethic, and a "suspicious" looking liquor inspector who was looking at a teenage girl.

According to the June 27 BC Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch decision, the long-term employee testified that he was watching the man standing by the wine because the man wasn't looking at the bottles, but instead was looking at the girl.

He understandably thought the man was acting suspiciously and in keeping his eyes on him, didn't look at the teen properly and inadvertently served her beer.

The clerk said he thought it was "strange" when the man walked out of the store without buying anything immediately after the girl left.

However, the man returned 10 minutes later and presented himself as a liquor inspector, then told the clerk he'd just served a minor.

"He felt he had been put in a corner... he had been working for more than five years in the industry and had never had that problem before," the decision reads. "He thought he was being trapped."

The liquor store appealed the fine, arguing it had an impeccable record and had been in the liquor business for over 30 years.

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The clerk testified that the incident was "devastating" for him.

"In his fifty years of working, he has never had problems," the decision reads. "In the pub, he had assessed people for intoxication and stopped them from getting into cars."

He testified that he'd been ill that week and had a few days off work.

He described his work ethic as "not to call in sick unless extremely ill," and had gone to work that Friday night.

He attributed his illness as one of the reasons he accidentally served the minor.

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While Liquor Branch Delegate Nerys Poole said she accepted it was a one-time mistake of a long-term employee who wasn't well, that didn't excuse serving a minor.

"The onus is on the licensee to ensure its employees can effectively perform their job," the delegate said in the decision.

The delegate also wasn't swayed by the clerk being distracted by the suspicious-looking liquor inspector.

"Distractions are inevitable in any licensed establishment and are not an excuse for not asking for ID and/or not properly assessing a customer’s age," Delegate Poole said in the decision.

Ultimately, the liquor store was fined the minimum amount of $7,000 which it chose over being shut for seven days.

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