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With a view to tackling the issue of Mainland pregnant women giving birth in Hong Kong, the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA) under the Home Affairs Department has been actively pursuing enforcement action against premises suspected of being illegally used as hostels for Mainland pregnant women, including all-out strategies to combat unlicensed guesthouse activities.
The Chief Officer (Licensing Authority), Mr Yu Tak-cheung, said the OLA officers would make every possible effort to enter and inspect premises suspected of being illegally used for Mainland pregnant women. To strengthen enforcement, the OLA would consider instituting prosecutions under section 21(6)(b) of the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance against any persons who obstructed OLA officers from enforcing the laws or collecting evidence, including entering and inspecting suspected unlicensed guesthouses.
Such obstruction is a criminal offence, with a maximum penalty upon conviction of a $100,000 fine and imprisonment for two years, and a fine of $10,000 for each day during which the offence continues.
Mr Yu also appealed to the public to provide information in a concerted effort to combat unlicensed guesthouses for pregnant Mainlanders. He stressed that the OLA attaches great importance to information provided by the public and will follow up on each and every suspected case. Blitz enforcement inspections and decoy operations will be mounted to crack down on the offenders.
"The OLA launched a large-scale operation targetting illegal hostels for Mainland pregnant women on February 2, supplemented by a wide distribution of leaflets. Since then, nearly 180 reports have been received in only half a month. Compared with an average of around 60 reports received in a month last year, there is almost a six-fold increase," Mr Yu said.
"The information was provided by various groups, including Legislative Councillors, District Council members, owners' corporations, property management companies, political groups, community groups and the public at large. The OLA will actively follow up on them and institute prosecution once sufficient evidence is obtained."
Mr Yu pointed out that for effective enforcement, the OLA would like the public to report accurate and detailed addresses of any suspected unlicensed guesthouses for follow-up by law enforcement officers.
"The OLA will certainly keep all sources of reports in strict confidence," Mr Yu stressed.
To report any suspected unlicensed guesthouses, tourists or members of the public can dial the OLA hotline at (852) 2881 7498, send email to hadlaeng@had.gov.hk, download a report form from the OLA website www.hadla.gov.hk and return it by fax to (852) 2504 5805.
In addition, the OLA has put in place new measures to refer information of convicted cases to the Rating and Valuation Department, the Inland Revenue Department, mortgage banks or monetary institutions, the Estate Agents Authority, the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance, property owners, owners' corporations and management offices of the buildings concerned. This can facilitate follow-up actions under their respective purview, including investigation into possible tax evasion for recovering taxes and the recovery of government rates as a result of change of use of premises.
In addition, banks may increase the mortgage rate, revise mortgage terms or even ask for an immediate repayment of all outstanding mortgage loans; owners' corporations and management offices may take legal actions in accordance with the deeds of mutual covenant against flat owners running unlicensed guesthouses; and flat owners may terminate tenancy and reclaim their properties from tenants found operating unlicensed guesthouses.
Furthermore, again with reference to the intelligence collected recently, the OLA today (February 16) conducted blitz inspections at 41 premises suspected of being illegally used as hostels for Mainland pregnant women in Eastern, Yau Tsim Mong, Sham Shui Po, Sha Tin and Tsuen Wan districts. Initial evidence found that three of the premises were suspected of offering short-term rental accommodation to pregnant Mainlanders, with one person suspected of breaching conditions of stay. The latter case was referred to the Police for follow-up action. This is the third round of territory-wide blitz enforcement operations conducted by the OLA within two weeks in an all-out effort to combat unlicensed guesthouses for pregnant Mainlanders.
It is a criminal offence to operate an unlicensed guesthouse and will lead to a criminal record. 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 $20,000 fine for each day during which the offence continues.
Ends/Thursday, February 16, 2012
Issued at HKT 19:44
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