HK Customs continues investigation into Bonjour Beauty chain's abrupt closure

Two beauty salons and a massage parlour under Bonjour Beauty suddenly suspended their operations in early September which led to Hong Kong Customs (as of 14 September) receiving a total of 220 complaints regarding the beauty group. The beauty contracts amounted to about HK$9.8 million.

The three companies involved were About Beauty, Dr.Protalk and Top Comfort. Customs said a dedicated team has contacted all complainants to obtain the details of each complaint and to commence investigations. On 6 September and 14 September, Customs officers interviewed two directors of the beauty group in order to pursue an investigation into the incident. Investigation is still in progress. Customs said officers will probe into whether the trader involved has committed the offence of wrongly accepting payment under the Trade Descriptions Ordinance.

Under the TDO, any trader commits an offence if at the time of acceptance of payment, the trader intends not to supply the product or intends to supply a materially different product, or there are no reasonable grounds for believing that the trader will be able to supply the product within a specified or reasonable period. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for five years.

According to an earlier report from RTHK, a notice was posted outside one of About Beauty's branches in Mong Kok, saying it was closing until further notice as a result of company restructuring on 1 September. 
The incident sparked concern among customers and employees. Labour Department said some of the companies' workers had asked for assistance and it was following up with the matter.

District councilor Ramon Yuen from the Democratic Party also said he had received more than 140 inquiries from customers over prepaid treatment fees, ranging from about HK$3,000 to more than HK$400,000. The total figure was nearly HK$6 million. He added that the majority of the complaints was that they were not able to contact any customer service personnel of company.  Customs said it will continue to maintain close contact with the Consumer Council as well as Legislative Council members and District Council members who are assisting the affected customers.

Hong Kong Customs has a number of missions, including protecting Hong Kong against smuggling, protecting intellectual property rights, consumer interests as well as facilitating legitimate trade and industry and upholding Hong Kong's trading integrity.

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