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Four women and a man were fined $2,500 each at the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts today (February 20) for contravening the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance.
The courts heard that officers of the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA), Home Affairs Department, inspected four suspected unlicensed guesthouses on Pitt Street in Yau Ma Tei, as well as on Nathan Road, Portland Street and Prince Edward Road West in Mong Kok in July and August last year. OLA officers posed as lodgers and successfully rented rooms in these four guesthouses on a daily basis.
According to the OLA's records, these guesthouses did not have valid certificates of exemption or licences under the Ordinance on the days of inspection. Therefore, the four women and the man who were responsible for managing these 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 which, upon conviction, will lead to a criminal record. The offender is liable to a maximum fine of $200,000 and two years' imprisonment.
The spokesman 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/Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Issued at HKT 17:05
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