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A company was fined $4,000 at the Eastern Magistrates' Courts today (November 3) for contravening the Clubs (Safety of Premises) Ordinance.
The courts heard that in December last year, officers from the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA) of the Home Affairs Department conducted an inspection at a club on Wan Chai Road in Wan Chai, which had been operating with a certificate of compliance (CoC).
OLA officers posed as customers and patronised the club for food and drinks without being asked to show their membership status or being invited to join the club as members. Furthermore, the club's staff failed to show the membership register upon the OLA officers' request. Conditions 19 and 20 of the CoC were breached.
The company, being the CoC holder, was charged with contravening section 21(2) of the Ordinance.
A spokesman for the department reminded all CoC holders to comply with the conditions as stipulated therein. Enforcement action would continue to be taken against illegal club operations.
Ends/Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Issued at HKT 17:30
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