Foot and Hand Reflexology, 116th and Shea, Scottsdale

Foot and Hand Reflexology in Scottsdale, Arizona was raided by police last month for providing illegal massage therapy (see article) after police received numerous complaints that the Scottsdale reflexology business was doing more than foot massages.  Armed officers dressed in police raid vests entered Foot and Hand Reflexology following an undercover investigation of the massage complaints and arrested the owner Van Hoang and a reflexologist named Yueming Zeng. Hoang also owns Elite Nails in the same Scottsdale shopping center.

These types of police busts often involve sorted stories of sex, prostitution, drugs, money laundering, and even human slavery.  Women who know nothing about massage are sometimes forced to provide sex for the massage parlor under a system of intimidation and threats.  In other cases, the women, who may even have formal massage training, may we willing participants in their illicit massage business where they offer clients “happy endings” in exchange for some extra cash.

But in the case of Hoang and Foot and Hand Reflexology in Scottsdale there were no allegations of sex or drugs.  Mr. Van Hoang was charged with operating a massage business without a license (a violation of Scottsdale massage code) and Ms. Yueming Zeng was charged with providing massage therapy without a license (a violation of Arizona massage law).  The Scottsdale police were acting to enforce Arizona massage law and protect the public from massage performed by unlicensed massage therapists.  This less “sexy” arrest is very important to everyone in the massage industry and everyone in the general public who gets massages for several reasons.

Over the past 20 years nearly all states have enacted laws to protect the public when receiving massage therapy, which is considered a medical treatment.  Massage therapy can have a powerful physiological effect on the body and while it is usually safe there are many serious contraindications and areas of caution. Conditions such as cancer, pregnancy, blood clots, HIV, phlebitis, heart failure, kidney failure, bleeding disorders, and acute infections can be exasperated with an improper massage resulting in serious injury or death.  This is universally recognized in the United States and many other countries.

Massage therapists can be required to have over 2,000 hours of training in some jurisdictions before they can earn a massage license and become qualified to provide massage therapy services.  Training includes anatomy, physiology, pathologies, medical ethics, contraindications, and of course proper techniques to manipulate soft tissue to achieve a therapeutic effect.

When businesses are allowed to provide massage therapy without trained therapists they endanger the public, hurt the reputation of the massage industry, and flaunt the laws that elected officials have put in place for the public’s safety. 

The Scottsdale police recognize this and warned Mr. Hoang many times about his violations of the law.  Due to Mr. Hoang’s consistent refusal to cooperate the police eventually had to take this more drastic step of making an arrest.  Mr. Hoang and Ms. Zeng can get sentenced to up to six months in jail and Foot and Hand Reflexology’s business license is subject to being revoked by the City of Scottsdale.

Five stars to the Scottsdale police department for perhaps being the first police department in the nation to make an arrest enforcing massage laws not involving sex.