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A woman and a man were fined $2,800 and $1,500 respectively at the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts today (October 17) for contravening the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance.
The court heard that in March this year, officers of the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA), Home Affairs Department, posed as lodgers and rented a room in a guesthouse on Nathan Road, Mong Kok, on a daily basis. According to the OLA's records, the premises did not possess a valid certificate of exemption or a licence under the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance on the day of inspection. The female operator was charged with contravening section 5(1) of the Ordinance.
In addition, OLA officers inspected a licensed guesthouse on Nathan Road, Yau Ma Tei, in March this year and found that the guesthouse logos issued by the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Authority were not displayed on the doors of all guestrooms. Condition 18 of the license was breached. The licence holder of the guesthouse was charged with contravening section 21(4) 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 by fax (fax number: 2504 5805) using the report form downloaded from the website (www.hadla.gov.hk).
Ends/Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Issued at HKT 17:31
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