Ying Ni, of Hull, was sentenced to two years and four months in prison at Hull Crown Court last week, after she admitted to nine offences of fraud or cheating the Public Revenue between 2015 and 2020. Ni was also given a five-year director ban on top of her sentence.

Ni’s husband, Fengsi He, who was a chef at the Moon River takeaway, appeared with her in court under similar charges, however the charges against him were dropped.

Ni started the Chinese takeaway in 2013 with her husband and initially ran the business legitimately for the first two years. The couple faced several food hygiene offences in 2014 but managed to address the issues and run a widely popular takeaway restaurant in the area. Ni's husband also ran a separate takeaway in Hornsea, East Yorkshire.