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A woman and a man were each fined $5,000 at the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts today (October 19) for contravening the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance.
The court heard that in May this year, officers of the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA), Home Affairs Department, inspected a licensed guesthouse in Nathan Road, Mong Kok. During the investigation, OLA officers, posing as lodgers and led by the male manager of the guesthouse, successfully rented a room on a daily basis in another premises in the same building. Later during the investigation, officers found four rooms in the premises for rental.
According to the OLA's records, the premises did not possess a valid certificate of exemption or a licence under the Ordinance on the day of inspection. The female operator and male manager of the guesthouse were charged with contravening section 21(3)(b) of the Ordinance for respectively operating and managing a guesthouse in the premises other than the premises indicated in the licence issued.
A department spokesman stressed that it is a criminal offence to illegally operate or manage a guesthouse or to operate or manage an unlicensed guesthouse. Enforcement action will 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 suspected illegal guesthouses to the OLA.
Ends/Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Issued at HKT 18:01
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