Mainland Chinese arrested for allegedly running illegal Botox clinic in Hong Kong hotel room
Doctor warns of risks after three people arrested for operating a cheap Botox clinic
A plastic surgeon has warned about the risks of unlicensed beauty services, saying such procedures may lead to skin infections that are difficult to diagnose and treat.
The warning came a day after police announced the arrests of three mainland university students for running a cheap and illegal Botox clinic in a Tsim Sha Tsui hotel room.
Officers nabbed the suspects - two women and one man - in Hotel Icon on Wednesday evening alongside unregistered pharmaceutical products and medical equipment, including syringes and gloves.
A 20-year-old Hong Kong woman was awaiting Botox treatment at the time of the raid, while three more had appointments for that day, according to police.
The quality of the products used in these unlicensed operations was uncertain, said Walter King Wing-keung, former president of the Association of Cosmetic Surgery.
"Outside a doctor's clinic, hygiene conditions may also be called into question and such procedures can result in skin and facial infections," King said.
"There have been cases reported in the US where such infections have taken three to six months to treat. The diagnosis can also be difficult."
Botox injection is a popular cosmetic procedure used to reduce wrinkles and alter facial contours by paralysing certain muscles in the user's face.
The price of each dose typically ranges between HK$3,000 and HK$8,000, depending on the quality of the substance applied.
According to a police source close to the case, the arrested students were offering the beauty jabs for HK$1,000 to HK$3,000.
Officers seized more than 10 small bottles of Botox - believed to have been purchased on the mainland - during the raid.
One of the detainees, a 23-year-old postgraduate student from a Guangdong university, was arrested on suspicion of illegally practising medicine, possessing restricted products, and breaching his conditions of stay in Hong Kong. "Investigation shows he has basic medical knowledge but he is not a medical student," the source said.
One of the two women, aged 22, is an accounting student at a Guizhou university. She was arrested for offences including aiding and abetting the man.
