Managers of unlicensed guesthouses fined
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The court heard that in February this year, officers of the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA), the Home Affairs Department, inspected a licensed guesthouse on Dundas Street in Mong Kok. During the inspection, the OLA officers posed as lodgers and successfully rented a room in an unlicensed guesthouse in the same building on a daily basis. The woman responsible for managing the premises was charged with contravening section 21(3)(b) of the Ordinance for managing a guesthouse in a premises other than the one indicated in the licence.
Furthermore, OLA officers inspected a suspected unlicensed guesthouse on Tung Choi Street in Mong Kok in March this year. During the inspection, the OLA officers posed as lodgers and successfully rented a room in the guesthouse on an hourly basis.
According to the OLA's records, the guesthouse did not possess a licence under the Ordinance on the day of inspection. The woman responsible for managing the premises 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 can lead to a criminal record. Upon conviction, the offender is liable to a maximum fine of $200,000 and two years' imprisonment.
The spokesman appealed to anyone with information about suspected unlicensed guesthouses to report it to the OLA through the hotline (tel: 2881 7498), by email (hadlaenq@had.gov.hk), by fax (2504 5805) using the report form downloaded from the OLA website (www.hadla.gov.hk), or through the mobile application "Hong Kong Licensed Hotels and Guesthouses".
Ends/Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Issued at HKT 16:45
Issued at HKT 16:45
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