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A woman and a man were each fined $8,000 at the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts today (August 26) 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 two suspected unlicensed guesthouses on Shanghai Street in Yau Ma Tei and Sai Yee Street in Mong Kok in January and March this year. OLA officers posed as lodgers and successfully rented rooms in these premises on an hourly or daily basis.
According to the OLA's records, the guesthouses did not possess licences under the Ordinance on the days of inspection. Therefore, 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 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 (www.hadla.gov.hk), or through the mobile application "Hong Kong Licensed Hotels and Guesthouses".
Ends/Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Issued at HKT 17:46
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