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A male property agent was fined $3,000 at the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts today (June 21) for managing an unlicensed guesthouse in Sham Shui Po. The Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA) of the Home Affairs Department will pass the conviction record to the Estate Agents Authority for disciplinary punishment.
The courts heard that in June last year, OLA officers posed as lodgers and successfully rented a flat on a daily basis in Cheung Sha Wan Road, Sham Shui Po, via the property agent. The flat concerned did not possess a valid certificate of exemption or a licence under the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance on the day of inspection. The male property agent managing the guesthouse was charged with contravening section 5(1) of the 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 (fax number: 2504 5805) using the report form downloaded from the website (www.hadla.gov.hk).
Ends/Thursday, June 21, 2012
Issued at HKT 17:30
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