Govt sets up inter-departmental dedicated investigation team to investigate business suspension of PHYSICAL Fitness & Beauty

The Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is highly concerned about the temporary business suspension announced by chain fitness and beauty group PHYSICAL Fitness & Beauty on Sept. 6.

An inter-departmental dedicated investigation team has been set up to handle the cases as soon as possible.

Hong Kong Customs and the Police will conduct an intensive investigation into offenses under the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (TDO) with respect to unfair trade practices and whether other criminal offenses are involved respectively. Should there be any violation found, the authorities will take appropriate enforcement action.

As of 4 pm, Sept. 10, Customs and the Police had received 733 and 19 complaints respectively regarding the chain group concerned.

Customs appeals to consumers who have purchased fitness or beauty services from the chain group to contact Customs as soon as possible. Members of the public may report any suspected violations of the TDO to Customs' 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).

Customs reminds traders to comply with the requirements of the TDO. Consumers are also reminded to procure services at reputable shops and consider prudently before making decisions for consumption with prepayment. After purchasing services, they should keep relevant records, such as transaction receipts and contracts, which can become basic information in case a complaint is lodged in the future.

In response to the above incident, the Commercial Crime Bureau of the Police has set up a task force to investigate the fraud and false statement offenses.

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