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A man was fined $2,500 at the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts today (November 21) for operating an unlicensed guesthouse in Hung Hom.
The courts heard that in May this year, an officer of the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA), Home Affairs Department, posed as a lodger and successfully rented a room in a suspected unlicensed guesthouse on Baker Street on a daily basis.
According to the OLA's records, the guesthouse did not possess a valid certificate of exemption or a licence under the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance on the day of inspection. Therefore, the male operator of the guesthouse was charged with contravening section 5(1) of the Ordinance.
A department spokesman stressed that it is a criminal offence to operate or manage an unlicensed guesthouse. Any person who is convicted of operating or managing an unlicensed guesthouse is liable to imprisonment. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a $200,000 fine and imprisonment for two years.
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, November 21, 2012
Issued at HKT 17:01
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