*****************************************
A man was fined $4,000 at the Tuen Mun Magistrates' Courts today (October 26) for managing an unlicensed guesthouse in Yuen Long.
The courts heard that in April this year, officers of the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA), Home Affairs Department, inspected a suspected unlicensed guesthouse on Castle Peak Road, Yuen Long. During the investigation, OLA officers posed as lodgers and rented a room in the guesthouse on an hourly basis.
According to the OLA's records, the guesthouse did not possess a valid certificate of exemption or a licence under the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance on the day of inspection. Therefore, the male manager of the guesthouse was charged with contravening section 5(1) of the Ordinance.
A department spokesman stressed that it is a criminal offence to operate or manage an unlicensed guesthouse. Any person who is convicted of operating or managing an unlicensed guesthouse is liable to imprisonment. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a $200,000 fine and imprisonment for two years.
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 fax (2504 5805) using the report form downloaded from the website (www.hadla.gov.hk).
Ends/Friday, October 26, 2012
Issued at HKT 17:00
NNNN