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Many tourists come to Hong Kong during the Lunar New Year to enjoy the traditional Chinese festive season. To ensure their safety, the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA) of the Home Affairs Department recently stepped up enforcement actions to combat unlicensed guesthouses.
Since last Monday (January 27), the OLA has conducted surprise inspections, mounted decoy operations and launched large-scale inter-departmental operations in various districts throughout the territory. Among the 90 premises inspected, six were suspected to have unlicensed guesthouse activities. The OLA will examine the evidence gathered and prosecution will be instituted immediately if there is sufficient evidence that the premises concerned are involved in such illegal activities. Two women suspected of breaching their conditions of stay were found during the inspections and they have been referred to the Police for follow-up action.
The Chief Officer (Licensing Authority), Mr Winston Leung, stressed that operating an unlicensed guesthouse is a criminal offence. Any person convicted of the offence is liable to imprisonment, which will also lead to a criminal record. The maximum penalty is a fine of $200,000 and imprisonment for two years, and a fine of $20,000 for each day during which the offence continues.
The OLA has substantially increased the number of inspections of suspected unlicensed premises over the past five years, from 2 430 in 2009 to 9 889 in 2013. The number of prosecutions has also risen significantly from 39 to 171, while the number of convictions has also surged by over 3.5 times from 36 to 161. Of the 390 persons convicted in total during the period, 26 were sentenced to imprisonment and the maximum penalty was a three-month immediate imprisonment. These demonstrate the OLA's determination and the effectiveness of the enhanced measures against unlicensed guesthouse operation.
Mr Leung added, "The OLA has set up a dedicated Internet enforcement team to browse webpages, as well as discussion forums and blogs to track down suspected unlicensed guesthouse activities on the one hand, and appeals to tourists to patronise licensed guesthouses on the other. Moreover, the OLA has made it very clear in writing to the websites concerned from time to time that a licence is required for guesthouse operation in accordance with the laws of Hong Kong.
"The OLA has also implemented a stringent measure targeting at those licensed guesthouses operators who operate guesthouses at other premises, commonly known as 'shadow guesthouse'. If a guesthouse licence holder is convicted of unlicensed guesthouse operation, the OLA will consider cancelling all the licences being held by the licensee concerned or refusing to renew the licences pursuant to the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance. So far, the OLA has cancelled or refused to renew the licences of 13 guesthouses for this reason."
In addition to stepping up law enforcement actions, the OLA also appeals to tourists to check the list of licensed hotels and guesthouses on the OLA's dedicated website (www.hadla.gov.hk), or to look for guesthouse logos displayed at the main entrance of licensed guesthouses and on the doors of their guestrooms prior to making reservation for accommodation. To report any suspected unlicensed guesthouses, please dial the OLA hotline (Tel. no.: 2881 7498), send an email to hadlaenq@had.gov.hk, or download a report form from the OLA's website (www.hadla.gov.hk) and return it by fax to 2504 5805.
Ends/Monday, February 3, 2014
Issued at HKT 16:30
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