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Two men were fined $5,000 and $10,000 at the Eastern Magistrates' Courts and the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts respectively today (September 15) for contravening the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance. One of them was also sentenced to one month's imprisonment, suspended for 18 months.
The courts heard that in February this year and September last year, officers of the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA), Home Affairs Department, inspected two unlicensed guesthouses on King's Road in North Point and Nathan Road in Jordan. OLA officers posed as lodgers and successfully rented rooms in these guesthouses on a daily basis.
According to the OLA's record, the guesthouses did not possess licences under the Ordinance on the days of inspection. The male managers of the guesthouses 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/Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Issued at HKT 18:19
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