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A man was fined $7,000 at the Eastern Magistrates' Court today (July 25) for managing a guesthouse in Causeway Bay without a valid certificate of exemption or a licence.
The court heard that Officers of the Licensing Authority (OLA), Home Affairs Department(HAD) conducted a decoy operation with police officers against a suspected unlicensed guesthouse in Paterson Street, Causeway Bay in April this year.
During the operation, an OLA staff member disguised himself as a tourist and reserved a room at the premises. Upon entering the assigned room, the officer found that there were sleeping accommodation facilities. According to OLA's record, the premises was the extension of a licensed guesthouse of the same building, but it did not possess a valid guesthouse licence.
The man, who was the manager of the unlicensed guesthouse, was subsequently charged with contravening Section 5(1) of the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance.
An HAD spokesman stressed that it was a criminal offence to operate or manage an unlicensed guesthouse.
The spokesman said that unlicensed guesthouses would not be tolerated and enforcement action would be taken against them to ensure the safety of patrons of these establishments.
He also appealed to the public to report unlicensed guesthouses to the OLA on 2881 7498.
Ends/Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Issued at HKT 16:29
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