************************************************************
The Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA) under the Home Affairs Department (HAD) today (February 7) inspected 26 premises in Eastern, Yau Tsim Mong and Tsuen Wan districts. Initial evidence found that two of them were suspected to have offered short-term rental accommodation to pregnant Mainlanders, with one foreign domestic helper being suspected of breaching the conditions of stay. The latter case was referred to the Police for follow-up action.
Following the large-scale enforcement action last Thursday (February 2), the OLA, with reference to intelligence collected recently, conducted another territory-wide blitz operation today targeting premises suspected of being illegally used as hostels for pregnant women from the Mainland.
The Chief Officer (Licensing Authority), Mr Yu Tak-cheung, said the OLA is now actively processing the evidence gathered and prosecutions would be instituted immediately once sufficient evidence is obtained.
In addition, subsequent to the operation held last Thursday, the Administration charged the two suspects for being involved in unlicensed guesthouse operation and breaching their conditions of stay under the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance and the Immigration Ordinance respectively. For the other case, the OLA is now actively assessing the evidence collected and will institute prosecution once sufficient evidence is obtained.
"In an all-out effort against unlicensed guesthouses, the OLA will introduce new measures such as passing information on the convicted cases to relevant parties for follow-up action. They include the Rating and Valuation Department, the Inland Revenue Department, mortgage banks or monetary institutions, property owners, owners' corporations and management offices of the buildings," Mr Yu said.
"Should any property agent or insurance agent be convicted, the OLA will also pass the conviction records to the Estate Agents Authority or the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance for disciplinary punishment."
Operating an unlicensed guesthouse is a criminal offence. Any person who is convicted of operating an unlicensed guesthouse is liable to imprisonment. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a $200,000 fine and imprisonment for two years, and a fine of $20,000 for each day during which the offence continues.
Apart from carrying out stringent law enforcement, the OLA will continue to step up publicity and information dissemination to encourage and assist visitors to patronise licensed guesthouses. Concerning the operation of illegal guesthouses for pregnant Mainlanders, the OLA will persistently strengthen its enforcement action including mounting decoy operations during office hours and outside office hours at night, as well as conducting blitz enforcement inspections.
In addition to carrying out blitz operations, the OLA has been actively working with other relevant departments in mounting large-scale inter-departmental operations at accommodation hotspots for visitors and pregnant Mainlanders, and publicity on this front will continue. Tourists may visit the OLA's website (www.hadla.gov.hk) to view the full list of licensed hotels and guesthouses.
Ends/Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Issued at HKT 19:16
NNNN
