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A woman was fined $8,000 at the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts today (June 13) for operating an unlicensed guesthouse in Tsim Sha Tsui.
The courts heard that in November last year, officers of the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA), Home Affairs Department, inspected a licensed guesthouse in Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. An OLA officer, posing as a lodger, successfully rented a room on a daily basis in premises other than the premises indicated in the licence.
According to the OLA's records, the room did not have a valid certificate of exemption or a licence on the inspection day. The female operator was charged with operating a guesthouse other than the premises indicated in the licence, thereby contravening Section 21(3)(b) of the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance.
A department spokesman stressed that it is a criminal offence to operate or manage an unlicensed guesthouse. Any person who is convicted of operating or managing an unlicensed guesthouse is liable to imprisonment. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a $200,000 fine and imprisonment for two years.
He appealed to the public to report suspected illegal guesthouses to the OLA through the OLA hotline (2881 7498), by email (hadlaenq@had.gov.hk) or fax (2504 5805) using the report form downloaded from the website (www.hadla.gov.hk).
Ends/Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Issued at HKT 17:36
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