The founder and director of gym chain Physical Fitness faces 17 charges over payment claims worth more than HK$320,000 relating to its sudden closure last year.
This photo shows Hong Kong gym chain Physical’s Wan Chai branch on September 9, 2024, days after the fitness company announced closure. Photo: Hans Tse/HKFP.
Luk Ngai-keung appeared before Acting Principal Magistrate David Cheung at Eastern Magistrates’ Courts on Monday.
He faces 17 counts of wrongly accepting payments relating to several beauty centres and gyms belonging to the company between August 1 and September 5 last year.
The gym chain has been hit with complaints and claims over fitness plan payments, rent, as well as employee salaries and pension payouts after it shut down without warning in September.
A court ordered the company to be wound up earlier this year after ruling that it was unable to repay its debts.
Payments
The branches in question accepted a total payment of HK$320,000 from 11 consumers. However, the amount that Physical Fitness owes goes far beyond that figure.
It was reported last year that the gym chain owed its ex-employees more than HK$74 million in salaries and HK$3 million in pension contributions, with the debt of the Tsim Sha Tsui branch alone reaching HK$634 million.
Physical’s Wan Chai branch was taken over and rebranded as Healthy on September 12, 2024. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
There were no reasonable grounds, at the time of accepting the payments, to believe that Physical would be able to deliver its services within a reasonable timeframe, according to a court document.
Luk was granted bail on the condition that he report to a police station every month, submit notice to the police before changing his address, and apply to the court in writing for permission to leave Hong Kong.
Along with another director, Ho Yuk-wah, Luk was arrested a week after the chain announced its “temporary closure” in September, citing high rents.
Magistrate Cheung adjourned the company director’s next court appearance to October 13 and granted cash bail of HK$170,000.
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