Rich Chinese women cheated out of millions in "luxury beauty tour" scam

A "plastic surgery tour" in Hong Kong targeted at rich Chinese women has been revealed to be a scam.

Hong Kong-based tabloid Apple Daily recently reported that a Shenzhen-based medical group lured rich housewives, socialites and businesswomen to go on tours that come with cosmetic surgery arrangements. Handsome young men would also accompany these participants looking to undergo plastic surgery procedures.

The five-day-four-night tours included stays at five-star hotels and also an evening cruise, where they would be treated to drinks, music and modelling shows by muscular male models.

According to Apple Daily, participants would stay in the hotel for the first day, and then attend a medical talk the next day before going on a cruise along Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour in the evening.

On the third day, the hotel rooms would be transformed into operation rooms, where the women would get Botox, hyaluronic acid and hormone injections.

The surgery procedures were mainly performed by fake doctors who used illicit drugs, English-language tabloid Shanghaiist reported.

On the tour, self-described "experts" would also persuade the women to buy more treatments. Some women were reportedly lured into spending as much as three million yuan (S$654,000).

But some of the women have reported bruising to their face or red rashes on their body after going for the tour.

The cosmetic surgery clinic has been organising the tour since September last year, with a tour package costing 38,000 yuan per person.

According to Apple Daily, at least eight tours have been organised, and the company has been earning a monthly revenue of about nine million yuan.

seanyap@sph.com.sg