A Hong Kong beautician on trial for allegedly helping to provide unlicensed medical services at a beauty centre told the court on Tuesday that she had been unaware her manager lacked a doctor’s registration.
Defendant Lau Lo, 38, appeared at Kowloon City Court to face allegations that she helped provide unlicensed botox injections to two customers on November 7 and 10 of 2022 at the now-closed CC Beauty in Jordan.
She previously pleaded not guilty to two counts of performing medical treatments without registration that resulted in personal injury. The two victims reported side effects such as blurred vision, problems chewing and increased heartbeats.
Centre manager Zhang Min was sentenced to four months in prison in March of this year after pleading guilty.
“I was just an employee there … I was only in charge of receiving the customers, I did not know Zhang was unlicensed,” Lau told Magistrate Kestrel Lam Tsz-hong.
“I shared my new job at a beauty parlour on WeChat and my friends reached out to me after seeing the post.”
Lau, who did not have a legal representative, said she had only worked at the centre for about two weeks when the incidents happened.
But the prosecution said that while Lau had not administered the botox injections, she had recruited customers for the unlicensed medical service and had opted not to verify whether her manager was qualified to perform the procedure.
The two victims, Qian Qingqing and Qiu Lili, both friends of Lau, appeared in court to provide evidence as witnesses.
Qian said she had reached out to Lau for information about the botox injection service after seeing her social media post about working at a beauty parlour, adding she was told in a text message from Lau that the centre “had a doctor”.
She then visited the beauty parlour on November 7, where a woman in a white coat, who did not introduce herself, administered the botox injection, with Lau present throughout the process.
Qian told the court that she felt unwell after the procedure, with her vision blurring and her heartbeat increasing.
Qiu, meanwhile, said she had visited the parlour for a brow tattoo after making an appointment with Lau via WeChat, but decided to also receive a botox injection after learning Qian had one several days ago.
She said she felt the first side effects about a week after the procedure.
“I couldn’t chew and smile as usual, and my facial muscles felt stiff. I thought it was normal but my heart started to feel unwell after 10 days,” Qiu told the court.
Qian and Qiu later visited Kwong Wah Hospital together and were diagnosed with botulism.
“I was hospitalised for two or three days, and my vision is still blurry,” Qiu claimed.
Dr Horace Chui Yul of the Department of Health’s Office for Regulation of Private Healthcare Facilities, who also testified on Tuesday, said only registered doctors were allowed to administer botox injections since it was a medical procedure.
Dr Wong Cheuk-sze of the same office told that court that evidence seized from the scene, such as adrenaline drugs and syringes, suggested injections had been carried out at the centre.
The hearing will continue on Wednesday, with more witnesses to give evidence, including the doctors who treated Qian and Qiu.
