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A woman was sentenced to four months' jail, suspended for two years, at Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts today (October 28) for contravening the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance.
The court heard that officers of the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA) of Home Affairs Department inspected a suspected unlicensed guesthouse in Mong Kok Road, Kowloon, in April. An OLA officer posed as a lodger and successfully rented a room with accommodation facility on a daily basis. The woman involved admitted later to be responsible for managing the unlicensed guesthouse, in which seven rooms were for rent on a daily or hourly basis.
According to OLA's record, the premises did not have a valid certificate of exemption or a license on the inspection day. The female manager was charged with contravening Section 5(1) of the Hotel and 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 dial the OLA hotline (2881 7498), send email (hadlaenq@had.gov.hk) or download a report form from the website (www.hadla.gov.hk), to report any suspected unlicensed guesthouses to the OLA.
Ends/Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Issued at HKT 16:02
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