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A company and a man that had been operating and managing a clubhouse without a Certificate of Compliance, were today (June 2) fined $3,000 and $2,500 respectively by Eastern Magistrates' Courts for contravening the Clubs (Safty of Premises) Ordinance.
The court heard that the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA) of Home Affairs Department inspected a suspected unlicensed clubhouse in Stanley Street, Central, in March this year. OLA officers, posing as customers, entered the premises and were requested by staff to join as members. After that, they patronised food and beverage successfully.
The man who was responsible for the daily management of the clubhouse later admitted that the premise was operating in membership system without a licence. Customers could patronise food and beverages after granted membership cards when their names and contact telephone numbers were registered. And the premises were operated by a company according to the Business Registration Record. The company and the man were charged with contravening Section 4(1) of Clubs (Safty of Premises) Ordinance as they respectively operated and managed a clubhouse without a certificate of exemption or certificate of compliance.
A spokesman for the department said robust enforcement action would continue to be taken against unlicensed clubhouse operations.
Ends/Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Issued at HKT 17:01
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