Company and man fined for illegal club operations

     A company and a man were fined $9,000 at the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts today (July 18) for contravening the Clubs (Safety of Premises) Ordinance.
      
     The courts heard that in December last year, officers from the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA) of the Home Affairs Department conducted an inspection at a club on Hillwood Road in Tsim Sha Tsui, which had been operating with a certificate of compliance (CoC).
        
     The club was found to have a layout that deviated from the registered drawings, the number of people at the club exceeded the maximum allowable capacity as stipulated in the CoC, and the club was also found to have operated beyond the licensed area. Also, the club's staff failed to show a copy of the certificate of fire services installations and equipment and the registered drawings upon the OLA officers' request. Conditions 3, 6, 10, 17 and 18 of the CoC were breached.
      
     The man and the company, being the manager and the CoC holder of the club respectively, were charged with contravening section 21(1) (a) or 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.