A Singaporean woman was sentenced to 2 weeks in jail and fined S$19,000 for running a "home beauty salon" from her residence in Ang Mo Kio.

Wang Xiaoling, 45, was operating under the brand name "Soul Beautiful Facial" and had advertised her services on multiple social media platforms, claiming that she was "legitimate".

According to court documents, at least two victims came forward — a 50-year-old Singaporean woman and a 30-year-old Vietnamese woman.

"Home-based beauty salon"

A Facebook page claiming to be the business of "Soul Beautiful Facial" has posts dated as early as June 2018.

The page advertises the business as a "legitimate home-based beauty salon".

Court documents revealed that Wang had promoted her "home business" not only via Facebook but also through a website and Instagram.

Interested individuals would have to contact her via email, WeChat or WhatsApp to engage her.

Even though she advertised herself as a "qualified beauty therapist", Wang was not registered as a medical practitioner under the Medical Registration Act and did not have a valid practising certificate.

Wang admitted to the authorities that she started the business for financial gain and had charged s$250 for Botox or filler injections and S$80 per thread for threadlifting procedures.

What victims experienced

An informant notified the Ministry of Health (MOH) about Wang on Jun. 10, 2021.

The accounts of the two victims were detailed in the court documents.

First victim

One of them, an unnamed 50-year-old Singaporean woman, learnt of Wang's services through social media and wanted to engage her services.

She also told the customer that she was a qualified beautician even though she was not licensed.

On May 9, 2021, the victim went to Wang's house for a threadlifting session.

The customer was brought to a bedroom where she was asked to lie down on a bed.

Wang started the procedure and applied numbing cream on both sides of the customer's face. She waited for 20 minutes and wiped away the cream.

She then applied Betadine antiseptic solution and cleaned it away with sodium chloride solution.

Wang took a needle and thread from a package, used the needle to make an opening on each side of the customer's face. She inserted two threads into the opening and cut off the remaining threads.

Wang didn't remember how much she'd charged the victim after the service.

Second victim

A second victim, a 30-year-old Vietnamese woman, contact Wang via Whatsapp and made appointments to undergo Botox and filler injections at Wang's residence on Sep. 10 and Nov. 12, 2021.

On Nov. 12, 2021, Wang performed a Botox injection on the second victim.

She created a Botox mixture with sodium chloride solution and Botox solution.

Wang then injected six lip fillers into the victim's cheeks and another three fillers into the lips.

She charged a total of S$750 for the procedure.

Taking botox injections from the wrong person in the wrong place may ruin your face

Wang Xiaoling faced a total of 14 charges, including charges under the Health Products Act and the Medical Registration Act.

She pleaded guilty to five of them, and the other seven were considered for sentencing.

The prosecution asked the judge for a two-week jail term for the Medical Registration Act charges.

The prosecutor noted that a medical expert had attested that several harm and complications might arise if botox injections and thread lift procedures were not performed by a person who is a trained medical practitioner and done in a non-sterile environment.

The medical expert said infection, inflammation, facial asymmetry, and nerve injury are among the complications that might occur.

Court documents did not reveal if any of the victims suffered complications.

Jail term needed to deter people who put others in harm's way for financial gain: Prosecutor

The prosecutor also pointed out that while Wang had not "held herself out to be a registered medical practitioner", she had put up certificates in the "treatment room" to give her customers "the impression that she was qualified" to provide the treatments.

"She had a business plan, as seen from how she employed social media to publicise her illegal aesthetic treatments," the prosecutor added.

The prosecutor said that an imprisonment term is warranted to deter like-minded individuals who may be lured to perform similar illegal aesthetic procedures for financial incentives, which could then put others in harm’s way.

Top photo via Shin Min and Mika Baumeister/Unspalsh