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A woman and a man were each fined $20,000 at the Tuen Mun Magistrates' Courts today (July 11) for contravening the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance.
The courts heard that an officer of the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA), Home Affairs Department, inspected a suspected unlicensed guesthouse on Castle Peak Road in Yuen Long in November last year. The OLA officer posed as a lodger and successfully rented a room in the guesthouse on a daily basis.
According to the OLA's records, this guesthouse did not possess a licence under the Ordinance on the day of inspection. The woman and the man responsible for managing 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 (fax number: 2504 5805) using the report form downloaded from the website (www.hadla.gov.hk).
Ends/Friday, July 11, 2014
Issued at HKT 15:30
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