Scandal-hit Hong Kong gym chain Physical ordered to pay HK$146,000 in damages to 2 customers

The Small Claims Tribunal on Monday entered default judgments against Physical Health Centre, which was recently taken over by a new investor after its abrupt closure last month left hundreds of staff jobless and triggered thousands of complaints.

The 38-year-old centre did not file a defence in response to allegations that its services failed to match descriptions made to former patrons Hung Yuk-fai and Lin Wai-ming in 2022 and 2023 respectively.

Principal Adjudicator Simon Lui Kin-man urged the claimants to seek legal advice as to how to enforce the court’s judgments and recover their losses, adding that the company might apply to overturn the rulings in the future.

Lin said he was considering another claim against the fitness chain over membership fees, but Lui told him to discuss this with his legal advisers separately.

Hung, who was granted a HK$109,300 claim against Physical, accused its Tsim Sha Tsui branch of breaching an oral agreement over a non-surgical scoliosis treatment course for which he registered in October 2022.