**********************************
A woman who managed an unlicensed guesthouse was fined $4,000 at the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts today (May 14) for contravening the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance.
During an investigation of a suspected unlicensed guesthouse on Portland Street, Mong Kok, last October, staff members of the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA), Home Affairs Department, found signboards bearing the name of the guesthouse and eight rooms equipped with sleeping accommodation on the premises. Some guests of the guesthouse said they rented the rooms on a daily basis.
OLA's record showed that on the day of the investigation the premises did not have a valid certificate of exemption or a licence as required under the ordinance. The woman was subsequently charged with contravening Section 5(1) of the ordinance.
A department spokesman stressed that unlicensed guesthouses would not be tolerated. He appealed to the public to report unlicensed guesthouses to the OLA at 2881 7498.
Ends/Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Issued at HKT 17:31
NNNN
