A company was fined $8,000 at the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts today (January 25) for contravening the Clubs (Safety of Premises) Ordinance.

     The courts heard that in May last year, officers from the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA) of the Home Affairs Department conducted an inspection at a club on Hau Fook Street in Tsim Sha Tsui, which had been operating with a certificate of compliance (CoC). 

     The OLA officers posed as customers and patronised the club for food and drinks without being asked to show their membership status or being invited to join the club as members. The club was found to have a layout that deviated from the registered drawings and the number of people at the club had exceeded the maximum allowable capacity as stipulated in the CoC. Also, the club had operated beyond the licensed area. Conditions 3, 6, 18 and 19 of the CoC were breached.

     The company, being the CoC holder of the club, was 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 will continue to be taken against illegal club operations.

Ends/Wednesday, January 25, 2017
Issued at HKT 17:00

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