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Two women and two men were fined $8,000 to $10,000 each at the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts today (August 6) 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 four suspected unlicensed guesthouses in Argyle Street and Nathan Road in Mong Kok, Jordan Road in Yau Ma Tei and Cameron Road in Tsim Sha Shui between November last year and February this year. OLA officers posed as lodgers and successfully rented rooms in these four guesthouses on a daily basis.
According to the OLA's records, these guesthouses did not possess licences under the Ordinance on the days of inspection. Therefore, the women and the men responsible for operating or managing these premises respectively 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 (tel: 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, August 6, 2014
Issued at HKT 17:01
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