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Three women and one man were fined $2,500 to $2,800 at the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts today (August 22) for contravening the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance.
The courts heard that officers of the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA), Home Affairs Department, inspected an unlicensed guesthouse on Jordan Road, Yau Ma Tei, in January this year. During the investigation, an OLA officer posed as a lodger and rented a room in the premises on a daily basis. Therefore, the female operator and the female manager of the premises were charged with contravening section 5(1) of the Ordinance.
Moreover, OLA officers inspected a licensed guesthouse on Nathan Road, Yau Ma Tei, in the same month. During the investigation, OLA officers posed as lodgers and rented a room in an unlicensed premises in the same building on a daily basis. Therefore, the female operator and the male manager of the premises were charged with section 21(3)(b) of the Ordinance for managing or operating a guesthouse in a place other than the address indicated on the licence.
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 by fax (fax number: 2504 5805) using the report form downloaded from the website (www.hadla.gov.hk).
Ends/Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Issued at HKT 17:15
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