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A man was fined $6,000 at Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts today (October 19) for operating an unlicensed bedspace apartment(BSA) in Sham Shui Po.
The court heard that officers from the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA), Home Affairs Department (HAD) inspected premises in Nam Cheong Street, Sham Shui Po, in March this year and found 14 bedspaces and five lodgers in the unit.
The man, who was the principle tenant of the premises, admitted that the BSA had been operating for two years without a valid certificate of exemption or a valid licence. The bedspaces in the premises were rented out on both a monthly and daily basis. He was subsequently charged for contravening Sections 5(1) of the Bedspace Apartment Ordinance.
An HAD spokesman stressed that it was a criminal offence to operate or manage an unlicensed bedspace apartment.
He warned that illegal bedspace apartments would not be tolerated and enforcement action would continue to be taken against them to ensure the safety of lodgers of these establishments.
He also urged people to report unlicensed bedspace apartments to the OLA on tel. 2881 7498.
Ends/Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Issued at HKT 15:26
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