Operator fined for illegal club operation

     A man was fined $4,000 at the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts today (June 10) for contravening the Clubs (Safety of Premises) Ordinance.

     The courts heard that in November last year, officers from the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA) of the Home Affairs Department conducted an inspection at a club on Dundas Street in Yau Ma Tei, which had been operating with a certificate of compliance (CoC). 

     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. Moreover, the OLA officers found that the club had a layout that deviated from the registered drawing. Conditions 3 and 12 of the CoC were breached. The man, being the operator of the club, was charged with contravening section 21(1) (a) of the Ordinance.
             
     A spokesman for the department reminded all CoC holders to comply with the conditions as stipulated therein. Enforcement actions will continue to be taken against illegal club operations.