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Five women, a man and a company were fined $3,000 to $10,000 at the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts today (February 17) for contravening the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance.
The courts heard that from April to August last year, officers of the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA), the Home Affairs Department, inspected six suspected unlicensed guesthouses in Nathan Road, Bute Street, Portland Street, Fa Yuen Street in Mong Kok and Nathan Road in Yau Ma Tei. OLA officers posed as lodgers and successfully rented rooms in these guesthouses on a daily basis.
According to the OLA's records, these guesthouses did not possess licences under the Ordinance on the days of inspection. The man, women and company responsible for managing and operating 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, February 17, 2016
Issued at HKT 17:57
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