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A woman and a man were fined $2,500 and $3,000 respectively at the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts today (July 25) for contravening the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance.
The court heard that in January this year, an officer of the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA), Home Affairs Department, posed as a lodger and rented a room in a guesthouse in Dundas Street, Mong Kok, on a daily basis. According to the OLA's records, the premises did not possess a valid certificate of exemption or a license under the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance on the day of inspection. The female manager was charged with contravening section 5(1) of the Ordinance.
In the second case, an OLA officer posed as a lodger and rented a room in a guesthouse in Shanghai Street, Mong Kok, on a daily basis in September last year. According to the OLA's records, the premises did not possess a valid certificate of exemption or a license under the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance on the day of inspection. The male operator of 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.
The spokesman appealed to the public to report guesthouses suspected to be illegal 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/Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Issued at HKT 17:01
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