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The Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts today (June 6) raised the fine from $3,000 to $6,000 after reviewing a case relating to contravention of the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance. The Home Affairs Department welcomed the Courts' judgement.
The Courts heard that in July last year, officers of the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA), Home Affairs Department, posed as lodgers and successfully rented a room in an unlicensed guesthouse in Reclamation Street, Mong Kok, on a daily basis. The female manager of the guesthouse was charged with contravening section 5(1) of the Ordinance and was fined $3,000 at the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts on January 22 this year.
As the sentence did not reflect the seriousness of the offence, the OLA filed a review to the Courts against the sentence of the verdict after seeking the Department of Justice's advice.
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. The OLA will continue to spare no efforts to strengthen its enforcement action against unlicensed guesthouse activities to ensure the safety of the lodgers and the public.
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/Friday, June 6, 2014
Issued at HKT 19:01
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