On December 27, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health informed that the unit had inspected and discovered a chain of facilities providing weight loss services that had received many complaints and continuously changed their operating addresses after being fined.
Receiving information reflecting the hotline from people, on December 26, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health conducted an inspection at the address 17 Hoang Du Khuong, Ward 12, District 10.
Here, 2 types of businesses are registered: Le Thu Trang Business Household and VHAN International Clinic Company Limited. This is also the operating model commonly applied to the type of weight loss service business that has recently been inspected and handled by the Department of Health.
At the time of inspection on December 26, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health recorded signs of more sophisticated activities and elements of dealing with authorities.
The Department of Health discovered that on the 6th floor of the facility there was a warehouse for storing common supplies such as laundry detergent, tissues, and stationery on shelves. However, the team discovered a small room designed and disguised behind the shelves, containing medical equipment (gauze, needles, anesthetics, fillers, botox, etc.), cosmetics; in particular, they discovered a carton containing bags of unlabeled blue-white capsules and blue capsules (brand name Oristad 120).
These capsules are similar to the products reported by people. At the time of inspection, the facility could not present invoices or documents for the purchase of these products.
In addition, the delegation noted that the facility had many machines using laser and light technology, and all had notices stating that employees were not allowed to use the machines.
The delegation noted that many customers came to complain and asked to pay for the weight loss services. Through investigation, it was found that these customers had their weight loss services performed at Dong Yang facility (307i Nguyen Van Troi, Ward 1, Tan Binh District).
After knowing that the Tan Binh facility was closed, the customer knew that the manager at the Dong Yang facility (Tan Binh) worked at 17 Hoang Du Khuong, so he came to request a refund for the cost of providing weight loss services with results not as agreed.
According to records, some customers have spent hundreds of millions of dong on weight loss services.
At 307i Nguyen Van Troi, the Department Inspectorate issued a decision to administratively fine Dong Yang International Clinic Company Limited VND 95 million and suspend the facility's operations for 4.5 months.
Violations by this company include using drugs, substances, and devices to intervene in the human body to change skin color, shape, weight, and defects of body parts; tattooing, spraying, and embroidering on the skin using injectable anesthetics at facilities that are not hospitals with cosmetic specialties or cosmetic clinics or other medical examination and treatment facilities with specialized cosmetic specialties; advertising special products, goods, and services without having the content confirmed by a competent state agency before advertising according to regulations.
At this company, the delegation also discovered records and information documents of BB Beauty Company Limited. This is a facility that also provides weight loss services and was fined 49 million VND by the Department Inspectorate for advertising medical examination and treatment services; listing the names of departments and rooms in the medical examination and treatment facility that are not consistent with the medical examination and treatment license records issued by the competent authority. The facility has temporarily suspended operations at 550 Ba Thang Hai Street, Ward 14, District 10.
The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health continues to verify and clarify violations at Dong Yang (Tan Binh District), BB Beauty and VHAN (District 10), strictly handle them according to regulations and make them public on the Department of Health's electronic information portal.
