Physical Fitness Center Chain Closes Down, Founders Arrested Amidst Consumer Complaints

Physical, a large⁣ fitness ⁣center chain, suddenly announced its temporary closure‍ of all operations on Friday, 6th. A few days later, customs ⁤arrested the founders of ⁤Physical, ‍Lu ⁢Yiqiang and his wife. The Consumer Council has received⁢ a total​ of 2,429 complaints so far, involving a total amount of more than NT$86 million.

Hong Kong⁢ Customs and the police established an inter-departmental investigation team on the closure‌ of Comfort Castle. They took action⁢ on Tuesday, 10th, and Wednesday, ⁤11th, ​and ​arrested a 67-year-old male director and a⁤ 68-year-old female director of the company. Hong Kong media⁤ quoted sources as ⁣saying that the ⁤arrested persons were Comfort Castle founder Luk Yi-keung ‌and his⁤ wife⁤ Ho Yu-wah, ⁢and the two⁢ were⁣ temporarily released on bail.

Customs has received ⁤900 reports so far, mainly about⁢ prepaid fitness ⁤and ‍beauty services, ⁣involving a total amount of‌ more than HK$38 million.⁣ A preliminary investigation‌ showed that‍ Comfort Castle was in‍ arrears with rent and continued to accept payments from customers before closing.‌ It was suspected of violating the “crime ‍of improper acceptance of payment” under the Trade Descriptions Ordinance.

Victim⁤ Lobbied to ⁣Sign Membership Contract with Unusual Terms

A female ⁢victim ‍was lobbied to sign a membership⁣ contract that would not take effect until 13 years later. She became a member of Comfort Castle in 2016⁣ and was lobbied to sign a 10-year membership. Recently,‍ she has⁤ been continuously⁤ lobbied‌ by staff to sign a 10-year‍ new contract‌ that will only take effect in 2026, and​ a three-year new contract that will‍ take effect in 2037.

Private Training ‍Halls and Beauty Treatments with Exorbitant Prices

The female victim was also ‌lobbied to purchase a large number of private training halls, including stretching, boxing, weightlifting, etc. The boxing hall alone involved 230,000 yuan. There were 1,914 private ⁤training sessions of all types, with a total purchase price of more than ⁢1.81 million yuan. ‌These halls ‌are valid for a very long time, up to 2050, spanning a quarter ⁢of a century.

In addition to fitness memberships, many patients also spend ‍a lot of money to participate in beauty treatments at Comfort Castle. The current highest-cost beauty treatment case​ involves 600,000 yuan. The ​victim purchased‍ different treatments for the entire body, ranging from weight loss, facial antioxidants to scalp activation, etc., and half of the treatments‍ were not used at all.

One of the​ “VF treatment courses” involving a cost of 300,000 yuan restricted the patient to 21 treatment courses within one month.