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A woman convicted of contravening the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance was fined $5,500 at the Kowloon City Magistrates' Court today (August 15).
The court heard that staff of the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA), Home Affairs Department, inspected a suspected unlicensed guesthouse in Shanghai Street, Mong Kok, in March. They found signboards of the guesthouse being displayed in the vicinity of the building.
An OLA officer then posed as a lodger and rented a room on a daily basis inside the guesthouse. Subsequently OLA officers found five guestrooms, all consisting of sleeping accommodation and washing facilities, and two lodgers inside the premises. The woman admitted that five rooms inside the unit were for rent and she was responsible for managing the premises.
According to Licensing Authority's records, the guesthouse did not possess a valid certificate or a licence under the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance on the day of inspection. The woman was charged with contravening section 5(1) of the ordinance.
A department spokesman stressed that it was a criminal offence to operate or manage an unlicensed guesthouse and enforcement action would continue to be taken against illegal guesthouse operations to ensure the safety of lodgers. He appealed to the public to report unlicensed guesthouses to the OLA at 2881 7498.
Ends/Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Issued at HKT 15:39
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