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A man was convicted and fined $2,500 at the Eastern Magistrates' Courts today (June 26) for managing a guesthouse on Lamma Island without a valid certificate of exemption or a valid licence.
The court heard that officers of the Licensing Authority (OLA), Home Affairs Department, inspected a guesthouse in Yung Shue Wan, Lamma Island, in February this year. They found three rooms provided with sleeping accommodation and 13 guests met on the spot alleged that they had rented the rooms on a daily basis through an agent in Mong Kok.
The man, who was the management personnel of the unlicensed guesthouse, admitted that all rooms in the premises were available for daily rental. OLA records showed that the premises did not have a certificate of exemption or a licence as required under the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance. He was subsequently charged with managing an unlicensed guesthouse.
A department spokesman stressed that it was a criminal offence to operate or manage an unlicensed guesthouse. He appealed to the public to report unlicensed guesthouses to the OLA at 2881 7498.
Ends/Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Issued at HKT 17:00
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