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Two women, who were convicted of contravening the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance, were fined $5,000 and $3,000 respectively at the Kowloon City Magistrates' Court today (February 28).
The court heard that officers of the Home Affairs Department's Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA), inspected a guesthouse in Tsim Sha Tsui last September and another in Mong Kok last October. Both guesthouses were operating without a valid certificate of exemption or a licence as required under the ordinance.
The two women, who were the responsible persons of the guesthouses, were later charged with contravening Section 5 of the ordinance.
A department spokesman said it was a criminal offence to operate or manage an unlicensed guesthouse and appealed to the public to report unlicensed guesthouses to the OLA at 2881 7498.
Ends/Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Issued at HKT 16:21
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