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A man was fined $3,000 at Kowloon City Magistrates' Court today (September 3) for operating a guesthouse in Yau Ma Tei without a valid certificate of exemption or a licence.
The court heard that in January this year, officers of the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA), Home Affairs Department, inspected a suspected unlicensed guesthouse in Shanghai Street, Yau Ma Tei. Two OLA officers posed as lodgers and rented a room on a daily basis inside the guesthouse. Subsequently a man, found out to be the operator of the guesthouse, admitted that he rented a room to the OLA officers.
Licensing Authority records showed that the guesthouse did not possess a valid certificate or a licence under the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance on the day of inspection. The man was 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, September 3, 2008
Issued at HKT 16:30
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