All five of its outlets in the city-state now display notices stating that the business has “ceased operations effective immediately and will commence formal liquidation proceedings.”

The company’s website link on its Facebook page is inactive, calls to the outlets went unanswered and Google Maps now lists the outlets are permanently closed, according to Mothership.

Customers contacted by local media outlets said the chain appeared to be open as recently as last Thursday, even taking appointments for the days ahead.

Celine, a long-time customer, said she passed by one location last Thursday and found business running as usual.

“There were no signs of them clearing shop or unhappiness,” she told Stompnoting that she had scheduled an appointment for the next day.

“When I reached the shop (for the appointment), it was shuttered, which was extremely unusual as they never shut except during Chinese New Year.”

Daniel, a customer for over a decade who purchased a S$2,000 package in April and still had roughly S$1,500 worth of sessions remaining, similarly said he had set an appointment at one location for Saturday only to arrive to a boarded-up premise.

“The staff were just as friendly to accommodate my request for the appointment (…) There were no signs of trying to vacate the premises early, nothing of that sort,” he recounted to Channel News Asia.

Some customers said staff had been promoting new packages just days before the sudden closure.

“There are a lot of such centers that come and go, but Wan Yang is one of the more established ones. And obviously, it’s on the back of its reputation that customers will sign up for their packages,” Daniel said.

On Sunday, the Consumers Association of Singapore said it had received 15 complaints to Wan Yang’s abrupt closure.

Its president, Melvin Yong, confirmed that customers reported losing more than S$29,000 in unused prepaid packages.

The association is “deeply concerned” about prepayment losses in the beauty and wellness sector resulting from sudden business shutdowns and has contacted Wan Yang to seek clarification on how it plans to refund customers for their unused packages and on other remedies, Yong said.

“CASE will continue to engage the Government and the industry on stronger prepayment measures to protect consumers, including encouraging businesses to keep prepayments in an escrow account, so that consumers’ monies are not unfairly held in the event of a business closure,” he added, as quoted by The Straits Times.

Some of Wan Yang’s customers have raised questions about whether its employees were also caught off guard, much like the case of bakery chain Twelve Cupcakes late last month.

That bakery similarly announced its closure abruptly, informing employees only on the day of the announcement. Its employees are still owed salaries and have had to borrow money to cover living expenses. Some union members have received S$150-200 in supermarket vouchers, but these were not given to non-union staff, according to the Business Times.

As for the Wan Yang case, Daniel said: “My heart goes out to them. I do hope it’s not another Twelve Cupcakes situation where the staff were left high and dry.”