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A man was fined $14,000 at The Eastern Magistrates' Courts today (January 7) for contravening the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance.
The court heard that in July last year, officers of the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA), Home Affairs Department, inspected a licensed guesthouse in King's Road, North Point. An OLA officer, posing as a lodger, successfully rented a room on a daily basis in a premises outside the licensed premises.
According to the OLA's record, the premises did not have a valid certificate of exemption or a license on the inspection day. The male operator and manager was charged for managing a guesthouse in the premises other than the premises indicated in the license issued, which contravened Section 21(3)(b) of Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance.
A department spokesman stressed that it was a criminal offence to illegally operate or manage a guesthouse or to operate or manage an unlicensed guesthouse. 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 e-mail (hadlaenq@had.gov.hk) or download a report form from the website (www.hadla.gov.hk) to report suspected illegal guesthouses to the OLA.
Ends/Friday, January 7, 2011
Issued at HKT 17:01
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