HK plastic surgery fraud targets mainland women
By Zhang Lulu
China.org, July 9, 2015
Housewives and businesswomen from the Chinese mainland have been involved in unlicensed plastic surgery in Hong Kong and some have spent millions of yuan, media reports say.[Photo/youth.cn]
Hong Kong newspaper the Apple Daily reported recently that a self-styled Shenzhen-based medical group has lured rich housewives, socialites and businesswomen from the mainland to go on plastic surgery tours in Hong Kong.
The itinerary includes physical examination on the first day, cruising on Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour with handsome men around on the second day, and surgery on the third day. The tour costs 38,000 yuan (US$ 6121.8) for each person.
The surgery, mainly performed on the nose and forehead, was done in five-star hotels in Hong Kong. The injection and surgery were performed by mainland Chinese, some of whom pretended to be Hong Kong doctors, the reports say. Illicit drugs may have been used during the surgery.
During the five-day tour, people who described themselves as experts persuaded the women to buy more treatments, claiming that inadequate treatment would lead to aging of the organs. Some of the women spent hundreds of thousands of yuan, and one even spent as high as 3 million yuan on beauty-enhancing treatments, reports say.
The group, called Boka International Medical or Boka International Group, claimed to be established in Hong Kong in 2005 and headquartered in Hong Kong's neighboring city of Shenzhen. It operates five surgery hospitals and has hosted parties in the name of charity to lure mainland customers since September 2014, according to Hong Kong newspapers. At least eight such tours are organized every month with 30 customers in every tour, Hong Kong newspapers said.
But the alleged group in Shenzhen told Shenzhen Evening News on Wednesday that they are only intermediate agencies and the tour is organized by Hong Kong Boka medical group, with which they only have "business cooperation."
Hong Kong police are investigating the case and no arrest has been made so far.
