Manager and operator fined for illegal club operations

     A man and a company were fined $1,800 and $3,000 respectively at the Eastern Magistrates' Courts today (July 23) 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 Foo Ming Street in Causeway Bay, which had been operating with a certificate of compliance (CoC).
      
     OLA officers posed as customers and patronised the club for food without being asked to show their membership status or being invited to join the club as members. Condition 19 of the CoC was breached.
      
     The man and the company, being the manager of the club and the CoC holder of the club respectively, were charged with contravening section 21(1) (a) and 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.