**********************************************
A woman was fined $5,000 at the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts today (May 8) for contravening the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance.
The courts heard that in June last year, officers of the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA), Home Affairs Department, posed as lodgers and successfully rented a room in a guesthouse on Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui on a daily basis.
According to the OLA's records, the guesthouse did not possess a licence under the Ordinance on the day of inspection. The female manager of the guesthouse 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, an 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/Thursday, May 8, 2014
Issued at HKT 17:45
NNNN