A female director cum salesperson of a beauty parlour was sentenced to imprisonment for three months suspended for one year and fined $2,000 today (July 9) after her conviction at West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts for engaging in unfair trade practices involving a misleading omission in the sale of beauty services, in contravention of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (TDO). She was also ordered to pay the remaining treatment balance, namely $1,950, to the victim as compensation.
Customs earlier received information alleging that a staff member of a beauty parlour in Tsuen Wan had engaged in unfair trade practices in the course of selling beauty services.
After an investigation, it was revealed that a director cum salesperson of the beauty parlour, in the course of selling a beauty service, intentionally hid a piece of material information, namely that the location where the relevant services were to be supplied would be moved to other locations on the next day after the deal. It caused a customer to make a transactional decision as a result.
Customs reminds traders to comply with the requirements of the TDO and consumers to procure services at reputable shops.
Under the TDO, any trader who engages in a commercial practice that omits or hides material information or provides material information in a manner that is unclear, unintelligible, ambiguous or untimely, and as a result causes, or is likely to cause, an average consumer to make a transactional decision commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for five years.
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).
Ends/Thursday, July 9, 2020