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Two women and two companies were fined $2,500 to $3,500 at the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts and the Eastern Magistrates' Courts respectively today (September 26) 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 two suspected unlicensed guesthouses on Shantung Street and Shanghai Street, Mong Kok, in October last year and March this year respectively. During the investigation, OLA officers posed as lodgers and successfully rented rooms in the two guesthouses on a daily basis.
According to the OLA's records, the two guesthouses did not possess valid certificates of exemption or licences under the Ordinance on the days of inspection. The two women, being the managers of the premises, were charged with contravening section 5(1) of the Ordinance.
Furthermore, OLA officers inspected a licensed guesthouse on King's Road, North Point, in January this year. During the investigation, an OLA officer posed as a lodger and rented a room in an unlicensed premises in the same building on a daily basis. Therefore, a company, being the licence holder of the licensed guesthouse, was charged with section 21(3) (b) of the Ordinance for having control of a guesthouse in a place other than the address indicated on the licence. Moreover, another company, being the owner of the unlicensed premises, was charged with contravening section 5(1) of the Ordinance for operating an unlicensed guesthouse.
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, September 26, 2012
Issued at HKT 18:00
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