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A company was fined $15,000 at Kowloon City Magistrates' Court today (June 1) for operating a licensed guesthouse in Sham Shui Po under a name other than the one indicated in the licence.
The court heard that in November last year, officers of the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA), Home Affairs Department, inspected a licensed guesthouse in Kiu Kiang Street, Sham Shui Po. An OLA officer posed as a lodger and successfully rented a room with accommodation facilities inside the guesthouse. It was found that the name of the guesthouse printed on the deposit receipt and items in the room was different from the name indicated in the licence. According to OLA's record, the premises held a valid guesthouse licence but it was operated under the name of another guesthouse situated on another floor of the same building. Section 21(3)(c) of the Hotel & Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance was thus contravened.
A department spokesman stressed that it was a criminal offence to operate a licensed guesthouse in contravention of the Hotel & Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance and enforcement action would be taken. He appealed to the public to report illegal guesthouse operations to the OLA at 2881 7498.
Ends/Monday, June 1, 2009
Issued at HKT 17:01
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