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A man was fined $8,500 at the Tuen Mun Magistrates' Courts today (May 15) for contravening the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance.
The courts heard that in November last year, officers of the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA), Home Affairs Department, posed as lodgers and successfully rented a room in a guesthouse on Castle Peak Road, Yuen Long, on a daily basis.
According to the OLA¡¦s records, the guesthouse did not possess a licence under the Ordinance on the day of inspection. The male operator of the guesthouse 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 anyone with information about suspected unlicensed guesthouses to report it to the OLA through the hotline (Tel: 2881 7498), by email (hadlaenq@had.gov.hk), by fax (2504 5805) using the report form downloaded from the OLA website, or through the mobile application "Hong Kong Licensed Hotels and Guesthouses".
Ends/Friday, May 15, 2015
Issued at HKT 16:33
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