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A woman was fined $8,000 at the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts today (January 14) 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 a suspected unlicensed guesthouse in Portland Street, Mong Kok, in July last year. OLA officers, posing as lodgers and led by the female manager of the guesthouse, successfully rented a room on a daily basis in another premises situated in the same building.
According to the OLA's records, the guesthouse did not possess a licence under the Ordinance on the day of inspection. Therefore, the woman was charged with contravening section 5(1) of the Ordinance.
A department spokesman stressed that operating or managing an unlicensed guesthouse is a criminal offence and will lead to a criminal record. Upon conviction, the offender is liable to a maximum fine of $200,000 and two years' imprisonment.
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/Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Issued at HKT 18:01
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