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A woman and two men were fined from $4,000 to $8,000 at Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts today (December 30) for contravening the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance.
The courts heard that in May and June this year, officers of the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA) of the Home Affairs Department inspected three suspected unlicensed guesthouses on Tung Choi Street, Lai Chi Kok Road and Shanghai Street in Mong Kok. The OLA officers posed as lodgers and successfully rented rooms in these guesthouses on a daily basis.
According to the OLA's records, the guesthouses did not possess licences under the Ordinance on the days of inspection. The men and the woman responsible for managing the premises 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/Wednesday, December 30, 2015
Issued at HKT 16:45
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