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A man was fined $3,000 and a woman fined $2,000 at Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts today (July 16) for operating and managing a guesthouse in Sham Shui Po without a valid certificate of exemption or a licence.
The court heard that in December last year, officers of the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA), Home Affairs Department, inspected a suspected unlicensed guesthouse in Fuk Wing Street, Sham Shui Po. They found a signboard of the guesthouse being displayed at the external wall of the premises and guestrooms inside the unit consisting of sleeping accommodation. Five guests were also found on the premises renting different rooms at a daily basis.
A man and a woman, the operator and manager of the unlicensed guesthouse respectively, admitted that nine rooms on the premises were used for rent on a hourly, daily and monthly basis. According to OLA'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 and the man were charged with contravening section 5(1) of the Hotel & Guesthouse Accommodation 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, July 16, 2008
Issued at HKT 16:00
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