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A man was fined $10,000 at the Eastern Magistrates' Courts today (May 31) for contravening the Clubs (Safety of Premises) Ordinance.
The courts heard that in November last year, officers from the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA) of the Home Affairs Department conducted an inspection at a club on Queen's Road Central in Central, which had been operating with a certificate of compliance (CoC).
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 club's staff failed to show the registered drawings upon the OLA officers' request and the club was found to have a layout deviating from the registered drawings. Also, the club had operated beyond the licensed area and had not yet obtained the formal written agreement of the Secretary for Home Affairs before commencing its alteration work. Conditions 3, 16, 17, 18 and 19 of the CoC were breached.
The man, being the CoC holder of the club, was charged with contravening sections 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, May 31, 2016
Issued at HKT 18:25
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