Hong Kong Government Launches Investigation into Fitness Chain's Temporary Business Suspension Amid Consumer Complaints.

Government sets up inter-departmental dedicated investigation team to investigate business suspension of chain fitness and beauty group

The Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is highly concerned about the temporary business suspension announced by a chain fitness and beauty group on September 6. An inter-departmental dedicated investigation team has been set up with a view to handling the cases as soon as possible.

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

As of 4pm today (September 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 the relevant records, such as transaction receipts and contracts, which can become basic information in case a complaint is lodged in the future.

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.

In response to the above incident, the Commercial Crime Bureau of the Police has set up a task force to investigate into the fraud and false statement offences. The police urge members of the public to report any relevant information to the Police's 24-hour hotline 2860 5012.

Source: AI-generated images

C&WDO receives report of loss of hirer data by facility management services contractor of Sai Ying Pun Community Complex

The Central and Western District Office (C&WDO) received a report of the loss of hirer data by a facility management services contractor today (September 16).

The C&WDO has engaged a facility management services contractor, Synergis Facility Management Limited (the Contractor), to assist in managing the Sai Ying Pun Community Complex Community Hall (the Community Hall) and handling the booking applications for use of the Community Hall and its facility from September 2022 to August 2025.

The Contractor reported to the C&WDO this morning that a staff member of the Contractor, who is responsible for handling the booking applications for use of the Community Hall and its facility, had lost a portable device (USB) during work on September 14. The device contains the name of organisation, date and time of the event, name and contact number of the contact person for 306 applicants. The data involved does not include any identity card number or other personal identifiers.

Upon receiving the report, the C&WDO promptly requested and accompanied the Contractor to report the incident to the Police and reported the matter to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data this afternoon. The C&WDO is contacting all the affected applicants to offer apologies and explain the incident. Meanwhile, a hotline (2852 3735) has been set up for persons affected to make enquiries. The C&WDO has also immediately suspended the Contractor from handling the booking applications for use of the Community Hall and its facility. The Home Affairs Department (HAD) has also informed the Property Management Services Authority to take appropriate follow-up action as the Contractor has failed to handle personal data properly as a licensed property management company.

The C&WDO sincerely apologises to the persons affected for any inconvenience caused and will follow up seriously to prevent reoccurrence of similar incidents . The C&WDO strongly condemns the Contractor concerned for the incident and has required the Contractor to submit a detailed report and take all necessary measures to prevent further leakage of the data involved. The HAD will not allow the Contractor to bid any other projects of the HAD until it has taken satisfactory measures.

Source: AI-generated images