Two women fined for operating unlicensed guesthouses

Two women were each fined $2,000 at the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts for managing unlicensed guesthouses in Mong Kok.

In January, officers from the Office of the Licensing Authority, Home Affairs Department, inspected a suspected unlicensed guesthouse in Dundas Street, Mong Kok. An OLA officer posed as a lodger and successfully rented a room inside the guesthouse on a daily basis. Later during the investigation, officers found 11 rooms in the premises for rental.

In another inspection conducted in February this year on a suspected unlicensed guesthouse in Dundas Street, Mong Kok, OLA officers posed as lodgers and successfully rented a room inside the guesthouse on a daily basis. Later during the investigation, officers found nine rooms in the premises for rental.

According to the OLA's records, the guesthouses did not possess a valid certificate of exemption or a licence under the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance on the day of inspection. The female managers of the two guesthouses were charged with contravening section 5(1) of the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance.

A department spokesman stressed that it is a criminal offence to operate or manage an unlicensed guesthouse and enforcement action will continue to be taken against illegal guesthouse operations to ensure the safety of lodgers.