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Two men and a woman were each fined $3,000 at the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts today (July 3) for contravening the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance.
The courts heard that, in January this year, officers of the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA), Home Affairs Department, posed as lodgers and successfully rented a room in a suspected unlicensed guesthouse on Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui on a daily basis through online booking.
Furthermore, in October last year, OLA officers inspected a suspected unlicensed guesthouse in Woosung Street in Jordan. OLA officers posed as lodgers and successfully rented a room inside the guesthouse on a daily basis.
According to the OLA's records, the guesthouses did not possess valid certificates of exemption or licences under the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance on the day of inspection. The two male managers and one female manager of the premises were charged with contravening section 5(1) 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, the 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 (2504 5805) using the report form downloaded from the website (www.hadla.gov.hk).
Ends/Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Issued at HKT 18:16
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