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A woman was fined $10,000 at the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts today (February 4) 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 a suspected unlicensed guesthouse on Nathan Road, Yau Ma Tei, in July last year. The OLA officers, posing as lodgers and led by a guesthouse member of staff, successfully rented a room on a daily basis in another premises situated in the same building.
According to the OLA's record, the guesthouse did not possess a licence under the Ordinance on the day of inspection. Therefore, the woman responsible for managing the premises was 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 (fax number: 2504 5805) using the report form downloaded from the website (www.hadla.gov.hk).
Ends/Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Issued at HKT 17:30
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