Organisers of farcical Hong Kong full moon party accused of running serial scams

Luxnetworking has been accused of cheating customers after failing to refund them for cancelled parties

The company charged up to HK$980 a head in advance for parties in July, then cancelled at the last minute and deleted its social media pages

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An image of a full-moon party in Koh Phangan, Thailand, used by Luxnetworking to promote its first Shek O “full moon party”. The company advertised a second such party, and two junk boat trips, for July, and sold tickets in advance, but all were cancelled. The company has since been evading customers’ efforts to get refunds.

Published: 12:15pm, 30 Aug 2019Updated: 6:44pm, 31 Aug 2019

The organisers of an infamous full-moon party in Hong Kong have been accused of running a series of scams after failing to refund customers for a number of events that never took place.

The full-moon event on Hong Kong Island’s Shek O Beach organised by event company Luxnetworking went viral in June after attendees described it as the “Fyre Festival on a two-dollar budget”, a reference to a music festival in the Bahamas that collapsed spectacularly in 2017.

Hundreds of people paid up to HK$550 (US$70) after being led to expect a large-scale beach party with a free-flow bar and loud dance music. But on arrival, they were greeted by the sight of a DJ operating a small sound system on a plastic table, given two cans of cheap beer and told to pay if they wanted more drinks.

After a huge backlash from guests, Luxnetworking cancelled a second full-moon party planned for July 20. It continued to sell tickets for boat parties scheduled for July 13 and 27, but pulled the plug on both events just before they were supposed to take place. Tickets for the boat parties cost as much as HK$980 a head.

Luxnetworking’s ‘Full Moon Party’ on Shek O Beach in Hong Kong on June 15.

Dozens of Luxnetworking customers say they are still owed thousands of Hong Kong dollars in refunds and have made a complaint to the police.