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Two women and a man were fined $8,000 to $10,000 at the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts today (November 12) 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 three suspected unlicensed guesthouses at the junction of Portland Street and Shantung Street, Sai Yee Street in Mong Kong and Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui, in March and May this year. The OLA officers posed as lodgers and successfully rented rooms in these three guesthouses on a daily basis.
According to the OLA's records, these guesthouses did not possess valid certificates of exemption or licences under the Ordinance on the days of inspection. Therefore, the man and women responsible for managing these 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 fax (2504 5805) using the report form downloaded from the website (www.hadla.gov.hk).
Ends/Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Issued at HKT 16:51
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