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Two women, a man and a company were fined $2,000 to $2,800 at the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts today (April 17) 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 in Portland Street and Reclamation Street in Mong Kok in October last year. OLA officers posed as lodgers and successfully rented rooms in these guesthouses on an hourly basis.
According to the OLA's records, these guesthouses did not possess valid certificates of exemption or licences under the Ordinance on the days of inspection. Therefore, the woman and the man responsible for managing these premises were charged with contravening section 5(1) of the Ordinance.
Furthermore, in January last year, OLA officers inspected a licensed guesthouse on Nathan Road in Mong Kok to rent a room in another premises in the same building on a daily basis. The female manager of the premises was charged with contravening section 5(1) of the Ordinance. The company, being the licence holder and operating a guesthouse in a place other than the address indicated on the licence, was charged with contravening section 21(3)(b) of the Ordinance.
A department spokesman stressed that operating or managing an unlicensed guesthouse is a criminal offence and will lead to a criminal record. Upon conviction, an offender is liable to a maximum fine of $200,000 and two years' imprisonment.
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, April 17, 2013
Issued at HKT 17:40
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