Beauty salon files for libel over patron's complaints

A beauty salon has filed a High Court writ against a patron after she complained bitterly about the services she received.

Kwong Yan-yan made her complaints about the Modern Beauty Salon (HK) Limited in writing to the Consumer Council, legislator Audrey Eu Yuet-mee, Dah Sing Bank Ltd and Next Magazine in August last year.

But in doing so she undermined the reputation of the salon, a High Court writ filed yesterday claimed.

The salon is seeking undisclosed damages for alleged libel and slander, as well as a 'clear and unconditional apology' published in two Chinese newspapers.

The writ states Ms Kwong went to the salon's Mongkok branch in July 2000 to have hair under her arms and on her legs removed, as well as for face-whitening treatment. But the writ says she attacked the standards of its services and high-pressure sales tactics between July last year to last month, when she made false allegations.

'In all probability, the [salon] will suffer loss of custom in the near future as a result of Next Magazine transferring the false allegations to the general public by its issue of September 12, 2002,' the writ says. Ms Kwong also published these complaints in letters which lowered the salon's good name in society, it adds.