Hong Kong police arrest 2 in raids on beauty salon after 15 customers develop bacterial infection following fat removal injections
- Centre for Health Protection and the force investigate Gals Glam Beauty after women develop rash, induration and abscess following injections
- Police arrest 27-year-old and 36-year-old in series of raids; authorities have not ruled out possibility of unlicensed medical practice
Hong Kong needs a statutory mechanism to regulate medical beauty services, a representative of the industry has said, after police arrested two women of a chain that saw 15 of its customers developing a bacterial infection following a fat removal treatment.
On Thursday, the force and Centre for Health Protection launched a joint investigation into Gals Glam Beauty following reports of adverse reactions among five women, aged between 26 and 53, after they received injections claiming to have slimming effects.
The following day, the centre used contract tracing to identify seven other victims who had visited two of the premises in Lai Chi Kok.
Three other victims called a hotline set up by the Centre for Health Protection and said that they have developed symptoms. Their condition was unknown, while the 12 others were in stable condition.
Authorities on Thursday said they had not ruled out the possibility of unlicensed medical practices and issued a warning urging those who had received the treatment at the Lai Chi Kok branches, located inside the Hop Hing Industrial Building and Alexandra Industrial Building, and developed symptoms to seek medical attention immediately.
A centre spokesman on Thursday said the treatment involved four to five injections and the women had developed a rash, induration and abscesses, a day to a few weeks after the procedure.