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A woman and a company were fined $1,500 and $13,000 respectively at Eastern Magistrates' Courts today (March 8) for contravening the Clubs (Safety of Premises) Ordinance.
The courts heard that in September 2014 and August last year, officers from the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA) of the Home Affairs Department conducted inspections at two clubs on Cochrane Street and D'Aguilar Street in Central which had been operating with certificates of compliance (CoCs).
In the club on D'Aguilar Street, OLA officers posed as customers and patronised the club for food without being asked to show their membership status or being invited to join the club as members. The OLA officers also found that the club's actual layout had deviated from the registered drawings and the number of people at the club had exceeded the maximum allowable capacity as stipulated in the CoC. Conditions 3, 6 and 19 of the CoC were breached.
As for the club on Cochrane Street, its actual layout had deviated from the registered drawings. Condition 3 of the CoC was breached.
The woman and the company, being the CoC holders of the clubs, were charged with contravening section 21(2) of the Ordinance.
A spokesman for the department reminded all CoC holders to comply with the conditions as stipulated therein. Enforcement action would continue to be taken against illegal club operations.
Ends/Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Issued at HKT 18:15
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