****************************************************
Seven women and a man were fined from $2,000 to $3,000 at Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts today (January 9) for contravening the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance (the Ordinance).
The courts heard that officers of the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA), Home Affairs Department, inspected six suspected unlicensed guesthouses in Pitt Street in Yau Ma Tei, Woosung Street in Jordan and Reclamation Street, Argyle Street and Pak Po Street in Mong Kok in January, June and July last year respectively. The OLA officers posed as lodgers and successfully rented rooms in the six guesthouses on a daily basis.
According to the OLA's records, the guesthouses did not possess valid certificates of exemption or licences under the Ordinance on the days of inspection. Therefore the six women and one man responsible for managing or operating these premises were charged with contravening section 5(1) of the Ordinance.
Furthermore, OLA officers inspected a licensed guesthouse on Nathan Road, Mong Kok, in July last year. They posed as lodgers and successfully rented a room in an unlicensed guesthouse in the same building on a daily basis. Therefore, the female operator was charged with contravening section 21(3)(b) of the Ordinance for operating a guesthouse in a premises other than the one indicated in 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 fax (fax number: 2504 5805) using the report form downloaded from the website (www.hadla.gov.hk).
Ends/Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Issued at HKT 17:35
NNNN
