**********************************************
A woman was fined $4,000 at Tsuen Wan Magistrates' Courts today (January 21) for managing an unlicensed guesthouse in Sheung Shui.
The courts heard that in November 2011, officers of the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA), Home Affairs Department, inspected a licensed guesthouse in San Lok Street, Sheung Shui. An officer posed as a lodger and was led by a member of the guesthouse's staff to another guesthouse in San Kin Street, where he was able to rent a room successfully on a daily basis.
According to the OLA's record, the guesthouse did not possess a valid certificate of exemption or a licence under the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance (the ordinance) on the day of inspection. Therefore the female manager of the guesthouse was charged with contravening section 21(3)(b) of the Ordinance for managing a guesthouse in a place 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/Monday, January 21, 2013
Issued at HKT 17:21
NNNN
