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A man was fined $2,500 at the Eastern Magistrates' Courts today (December 18) for managing an unlicensed guesthouse in North Point.
The courts heard that in June this year, officers of the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA), Home Affairs Department, posed as lodgers and successfully rented a room in an unlicensed guesthouse in King's Road, North Point, on a daily basis. Therefore, the male manager of the guesthouse was charged with contravening section 5(1) of the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation 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 by fax (fax number: 2504 5805) using the report form downloaded from the website (www.hadla.gov.hk).
Ends/Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Issued at HKT 17:16
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