The founder of a beauty clinic chain was today chided as money hungry by a judge as he and a technician were jailed for the death of a customer from an experimental treatment in 2012.
Found guilty of manslaughter earlier this month, DR Group founder Stephen Chow Heung-wing, 63, was handed a 12-year sentence for the death of a 46-year-old client, who was told the treatment would boost her immunity, according to reports.
Convicted on the same charge, his technician, Chan Kwun-chung, 32, received a 10-year jail term.
Another defendant, Elaine Mak Wan-ling — who administered the treatment — was granted bail last week after a jury failed to reach a verdict.
The prosecution has indicated it will seek a retrial against her, the Standard reported.
Chan Yuen-lam died of septic shock and multiple organ failure a week after she had her blood removed, processed and injected back into her body at a clinic owned by the company in Causeway Bay.
SCMP reported that the defendants billed what was an experimental cancer treatment picked up from a mainland hospital as a health boost.
It caused a severe bacterial infection in Chan’s blood. Two other woman given the treatment, which cost HK$59,500 ($7,600) per injection, were left fighting for their lives. One required multiple amputations to save her life.
In her sentencing remarks at the High Court, judge Judianna Barnes described Chow as a “money grabbing individual” who paid little regard to the safety of customers and displayed no remorse for the blunder, reported RTHK.
The SCMP reported that the judge said the pair had to be severely punished to show the “disgust and abhorrence felt by society.”
The case cast a harsh spotlight on Hong Kong’s largely unregulated beauty treatment industry and prompted an investigation by the Consumer Council, which last year warned people were at risk of “questionable and dangerous practices that require urgent attention.”
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