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Two women and one company were fined $8,000 to $10,000 at Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts today (April 2) 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 three suspected unlicensed guesthouses in Man Ying Street in Jordan, Waterloo Road in Yau Ma Tei and Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui in September and October last year. OLA officers posed as lodgers and successfully rented rooms in these three guesthouses on a daily basis.
According to the OLA's records, these guesthouses did not possess valid certificates of exemption or licences under the Ordinance on the days of inspection. Therefore, the women and the company responsible for managing or operating these premises respectively 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, an offender is liable to a maximum fine of $200,000 and two years' imprisonment.
He appealed to the public to report suspected illegal guesthouses to the OLA through the OLA hotline (2881 7498), by email (hadlaenq@had.gov.hk) or by fax (fax number: 2504 5805) using the report form downloaded from the website (www.hadla.gov.hk).
Ends/Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Issued at HKT 17:00
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