Singapore company spends S$4.35 million on staff dinner for 26,000 employees & family in Taiwan

[UltimaOnline]

he event had fireworks, music acts by Wakin Chau, Power Station and Ricky Hsiao, and a lavish 12-course meal served to 2,600 banquet tables.

KAOHSIUNG - This was not your average company dinner: There were fireworks, stage performances by pop singer Wakin Chau and a lavish 12-course meal served to 2,600 banquet tables.

Hosted by Singapore wellness product company Riway International, the mega outdoor banquet held in the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung on Tuesday became a social media sensation, with local Facebook users commenting that it was “the most extraordinary corporate dinner” they had ever seen.

Besides Chau, music acts including big-name Taiwanese rockers Power Station and singer-songwriter Ricky Hsiao were also part of the performance line-up.

Riway did not immediately respond to The Straits Times’ request for comment, but a company spokesman told Taiwan’s Commercial Times that the event was estimated to have cost almost NT$100 million (S$4.35 million) to produce. The food and table set-up alone cost NT$30 million, she added.

As it is difficult to find a venue that could accommodate so many people, the company decided to set up the banquet on an empty plot of land, she said, noting that preparations for the event began in September 2022.








https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/e...gn=stfb&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook


https://forums.fuckwarezone.com.sg/...on-staff-dinner-for-26-000-in-taiwan.6861068/

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Inland Revenue will be paying them many visits.

S’pore company throws lavish $4.35m staff dinner for 26,000 in Taiwan​

The staff dinner featured performances by (clockwise from top right) Power Station, Wakin Chau and Ricky Hsiao. PHOTOS: RIWAY INTERNATIONAL/FACEBOOK

Yip Wai Yee
Taiwan Correspondent

Jan 12, 2023

KAOHSIUNG - This was not your average company dinner: There were fireworks, stage performances by pop singer Wakin Chau and a lavish 12-course meal served to 2,600 banquet tables.
Hosted by Singapore wellness product company Riway International, the mega outdoor banquet held in the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung on Tuesday became a social media sensation, with local Facebook users commenting that it was “the most extraordinary corporate dinner” they had ever seen.
Besides Chau, music acts including big-name Taiwanese rockers Power Station and singer-songwriter Ricky Hsiao were also part of the performance line-up.
Riway did not immediately respond to The Straits Times’ request for comment, but a company spokesman told Taiwan’s Commercial Times that the event was estimated to have cost almost NT$100 million (S$4.35 million) to produce. The food and table set-up alone cost NT$30 million, she added.
As it is difficult to find a venue that could accommodate so many people, the company decided to set up the banquet on an empty plot of land, she said, noting that preparations for the event began in September 2022.



While most of the 26,000 attendees were the company’s employees and sales representatives – including those who flew in from branch offices in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Japan – other business partners and guests were also involved, local media reports said.
The dinner, themed “No Hold Back”, was held to celebrate the company’s 15th anniversary. It was also the company’s weiya, an annual dinner banquet typically held by companies in Taiwan ahead of Chinese New Year to thank workers for their hard work.


Weiyas are often a company’s biggest staff event of the year, but even then, Riway’s banquet stood out for its massive scale.
“Riway leaders from all over the world gathered to celebrate this meaningful day… This spectacular scene is definitely the best motivation to start a new year,” the company wrote in a Facebook post.
According to its website, Riway’s flagship product is a capsule made using deer placenta, which is consumed as an anti-ageing supplement.
In 2021, the Ang Mo Kio-headquartered company was fined $3,000 by Singapore’s Health Sciences Authority (HSA) for making false and misleading claims that the product prevents, alleviates or cures diseases and medical conditions such as cancer and diabetes.

Riway was fined $3,000 by Singapore’s Health Sciences Authority in 2021 for making false and misleading claims that its flagship product prevents, alleviates or cures diseases and medical conditions. PHOTOS: HEALTH SCIENCES AUTHORITY
HSA advised members of the public to be wary of such claims and said that the product is not meant for treating or managing medical conditions.
This comes after the authority in 2019 directed the company to educate its sellers to ensure they do not make false claims about the product.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

S'pore-based health supplement company fined $3,000 for making false cancer cure claims​

HSA debunked Riway's claims that Purtier Placenta contains stem cells that can cure diseases. PHOTO: ST FILE

Wong Shiying


AUG 2, 2021

SINGAPORE - Singapore-based company Riway was fined $3,000 last month for making false claims that its health supplement product can treat or cure cancer.
It claimed in advertisements that its flagship product, Purtier Placenta, has "anti-cancer effects" and is able to "cure patients with diabetes" - assertions the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) has found misleading.
Marketing materials published by Riway describe the product as having deer placenta as its main ingredient.
The materials also promote the health supplement as a form of live cell therapy, in which stem cells are used to treat diseases, simply through consuming pills.
HSA said there are no verified studies that prove Purtier Placenta can cure cancer, prevent diabetes or treat complications such as poor wound healing and nerve damage.
It is neither registered nor approved for use by HSA as a medicine, the agency added.
HSA also debunked Riway's claims that Purtier Placenta contains stem cells that can cure diseases.

"For stem cells to retain their activity, they need to be stored under very cold temperatures, as low as minus 196 deg C. There are no special storage conditions for the product.
"Additionally, stem cells that are taken orally will be destroyed by the enzymes in the gastrointestinal tract as they are protein-based substances."
The agency said it had issued several warnings and advisories to Riway since 2016 and directed them to educate their sellers not to make false claims.
"However, the company further published objectionable materials that came to (our) attention in 2019, warranting further enforcement action," added HSA.
Attempts by The Straits Times to contact Riway for comments were unsuccessful.

HSA said there are no verified studies that prove Purtier Placenta can cure cancer, prevent diabetes or treat complications such as poor wound healing and nerve damage. PHOTOS: HSA
According to records from the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority, Riway has been in operation since 2008. It is led by Singaporean Lim Boon Hong and has overseas branches in 11 countries including Malaysia and Thailand.
Riway's website said that Purtier Placenta, which is in its sixth edition, is "the answer to defying age and embracing our youth". There is no mention of the product's medical properties.
Checks found that Purtier Placenta can be bought on e-commerce platforms such as Lazada for around $250 a bottle. Similar products from other brands are sold at pharmacy chains at between $60 and $148 a bottle.
Some e-commerce merchants claim the product can strengthen the immune system and help with conditions such as eczema and high blood pressure. But Riway's earlier claims of Purtier Placenta being able to treat cancer and diabetes were not found.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Firm warned by HSA to stop making false health claims: What ST witnessed at Riway's presentation​

The Riway Singapore office in Ang Mo Kio. ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO

Charmaine Ng


JUN 10, 2019

Luxury cars were parked by the dozens outside an industrial building in Ang Mo Kio. On the first floor, free packed meal boxes were distributed by people in suits to their prospective customers.
About an hour later, a group of about 40 people headed to the second floor, where they listened to an hour-long presentation including an introduction on the history of the company, Riway Singapore.
A smartly dressed woman then went on the stage. She told a story of how she knew three people - including an elderly man - who had various types of cancer, but only two had survived.
"Luckily, their families were selling Riway products. The two still alive had taken Purtier, while the third who refused and insisted on following the doctor's advice, is now gone," she said.
For the next 30 minutes, the woman and two colleagues shared stories on Riway's flagship product - Purtier Placenta, a health supplement with deer placenta as its main ingredient - which they claimed has helped those afflicted by ailments, including cancer, stroke, Aids, eczema and hair loss, as well as improved one's libido and chances of pregnancy.
This was what The Straits Times witnessed during a recent representation at Riway's office.
ST obtained a copy of a Riway booklet on the supplement which describes it as an oral form of live cell therapy in which stem cells are used to treat diseases.


The firm also claims that active ingredients of the placenta are freeze-dried and packaged in capsules with a special coating that prevents them from being destroyed by gastric acid.
Instead, it says the capsules will be dissolved in the small intestine, where live cells and nutrients are absorbed into the body.
These claims have been refuted by the Health Sciences Authority, following queries from ST.
After the presentation, Riway sellers were seen taking prospective customers downstairs to continue the sales pitch.
Some sellers were also seen introducing customers to Riway's "network programme", where they can become sellers too.
To do so, they would have to buy a package plan of supplements, which costs up to $3,688 for seven bottles, or about $526 per bottle. Similar products from other brands are sold at pharmacy chains at between $60 and $148 per bottle.
Sellers who recruit others to the programme would earn a "referral bonus" of between 8 and 10 per cent. They also earn a daily bonus of up to about $1,000 if their recruits sell the supplements. Sellers also earn "bonuses" when their recruits get others to join the programme.


Lawyer Liesel Chong from Gloria James-Civetta & Co said these practices "fall squarely" into the definition of a pyramid scheme under the Multi-Level Marketing and Pyramid Selling (Prohibition) Act.
The definition of such a scheme involves any person who receives any benefit from the recruitment, performance or the sale of a commodity by one or more additional participants.
Businesses excluded under the Act include insurance firms. Master franchise schemes and direct selling schemes are also excluded but must fulfil certain criteria. For example, participants cannot be required to provide any benefit or acquire any commodity in order to join the scheme.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Ah bengs.
Chinese helicopter.
Can't even write proper Ingerleesh.
It should be: No Holding Back.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Wanna-be-distributors should watch Money No Enough 2 before joining Riway

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

HSA warns Singapore-based Riway to stop making false cancer cure claims​

No evidence to back S'pore-based firm's claims its health product can treat, cure cancer: Authority​

During a presentation, sellers at Riway Singapore shared stories about customers affected by various illnesses, such as cancer, eczema and stroke, but who they claimed had seen improvement in their medical conditions after taking its flagship product, Purtier Placenta. ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO

Charmaine Ng


JUN 10, 2019

The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) has warned a Singapore-based company to stop making false and misleading claims that its health supplement product can treat or cure cancer.
HSA said it has also directed Riway Singapore to educate its sellers to ensure they do not make false claims about the product.
Investigations are ongoing, said the HSA spokesman, in response to queries from The Straits Times.
"We will take the necessary enforcement actions if there are contraventions against the relevant laws," said the spokesman.
"Sellers who falsely advertise health products are liable to prosecution and, if convicted, may be imprisoned for up to two years and/or fined up to $5,000."
HSA was alerted to a recent presentation made by Riway sellers at its headquarters for its flagship product, Purtier Placenta.
Marketing materials published by Riway describe the product as a health supplement with deer placenta as its main ingredient.


The materials also promote the health supplement as a form of live cell therapy, in which stem cells are used to treat diseases, simply through consuming pills.

• 6
  Number of complaints the Consumers Association of Singapore has received against Riway Singapore since January 2017, of which three were related to misleading claims.

During a recent presentation attended by ST, sellers were heard making similar claims about the product. They also shared stories about customers affected by various illnesses, such as cancer, eczema and stroke, but who they claimed had seen improvement in their medical conditions after taking the supplement.
During the presentation held at Riway's office in Ang Mo Kio, a seller also said the company's revenue grew from US$3 million (S$4.1 million) in 2009 to US$4 billion in 2017, claiming it as a testament to the success of its flagship product.


Since January 2017, the Consumers Association of Singapore has received six complaints against Riway, of which three were related to misleading claims.
HSA said it "strongly advises" the public to be wary of the product's claims on live cell therapy.
The spokesman said: "There is no robust scientific evidence to support these claims.
"It is also not scientifically proven that oral stem cell therapy can prevent or treat diseases and medical conditions. Live stem cells would generally be destroyed by digestive enzymes in our stomach and gut when consumed orally."


HSA also noted that Riway's sellers have been referencing a laboratory report dated Oct 29, 2008, from the authority to make claims that the health supplement is safe for consumption.
It called the use of the report "misleading" as it contains only the results of a one-off test on a sample of a product submitted by the company for the presence of heavy metals and is not evidence of the product's safety. The authority said it has since directed Riway's sellers to remove the laboratory report from all marketing materials.
"Anyone who misuses the laboratory report to falsely claim that HSA has endorsed the product is liable to be prosecuted for an offence of false advertising," said the spokesman. "If convicted, he may be imprisoned for up to two years and/or fined up to $5,000."
Attempts by ST to contact Riway for comment were unsuccessful.
According to records from the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority, Riway has been in operation since 2008. It is led by Singaporean Lim Boon Hong, and has overseas branches in eight other countries including Malaysia and Thailand. Mr Lim did not respond to requests for comment.
Professor David Virshup from the Duke-NUS Medical School told ST that he has concerns over the product's claims, adding that clinical applications of stem cell therapy are "still at a very early stage of science".
He added: "At this point, it's still a dream rather than reality. It's not yet available to the public because it's not proven to be safe and effective. It would be a leap to perform such therapies orally."
Prof Virshup, director of the Programme in Cancer and Stem Cell Biology, said studies have shown that such supplements may even do more harm than good. "Supplements are a more expensive way to get the same nutrients one can get from fruits and vegetables. An apple a day keeps the doctor away is probably a cheaper way," he said.

 

[rushifa666]

How did they elbow into native products. Only natives, not even Taiwanese could sell them

 

[Boliao]

They are not selling products, they are selling membership. Riway is a pyramid scheme company; machiam Sunshine Empire.

 

[UltimaOnline]

 

[Balls2U]

Consuming deer placenta capsules for stem cell growth? Count me out.

 

[Rogue Trader]

PAP must be disappointed they didn't hold their MICE event at MBS or RWS

 

[syed putra]

They are not selling products, they are selling membership. Riway is a pyramid scheme company; machiam Sunshine Empire.

They rebranded it as multi level marketing. .