*****************************************
Two men were each fined $10,500 at the Eastern Magistrates' Courts today (June 7) for contravening the Clubs (Safety of Premises) Ordinance.
The courts heard that in November last year, officers from the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA) of the Home Affairs Department conducted an inspection at a club on Elgin Street in Central which had been operating with a certificate of compliance (CoC).
OLA officers posed as customers and patronised the club for food and drinks without being asked to show their membership status or being invited to join the club as members. Also, the OLA officers found that the club had a layout that deviated from the registered drawings and had not yet obtained the formal written agreement of the Secretary for Home Affairs before commencing its alteration work. Furthermore, the club's staff failed to show the registered drawings and the certificate of fire services installations and equipment as well as the membership register upon the OLA officers' request. The number of people at the club exceeded the maximum allowable capacity as stipulated in the CoC. Conditions 3, 6, 10, 16, 17, 19 and 20 of the CoC were breached.
The two men, being the manager and the CoC holder of the club respectively, were charged with contravening section 21(1)(a) or section 21(2) of the Ordinance.
A spokesman for the department reminded all CoC holders to comply with the conditions as stipulated therein. Enforcement action would continue to be taken against illegal club operations.
Ends/Tuesday, June 7, 2016
Issued at HKT 16:46
NNNN
