City Gives Break To Massage Therapist Who Violated Regulations

WOODSTOCK, GA — Yi Pan, the owner of Daily Massage at 300 Village Center Drive Suite 110 in Woodstock, escaped religious persecution in China in 2011 to come to the United States and live his own version of the American Dream. Four years later, he opened his establishment in the city of Woodstock, which allowed him to buy a house in the city and build up his business.

However, the practice of having unlicensed employees provide massages to customers has threatened to disrupt Pan's business venture, as the city of Woodstock suspended his business license when police and code enforcement officers found he violated the city's ordinance. Woodstock's code requires residents to obtain the necessary state license before they can perform massages at businesses and for business owners to only allow registered employees to perform massages.

Pan's hearing at the July 23 City Council meeting was an appeal of the suspension, which was handed down July 16 by City Manager Jeff Moon. Instead of upholding the suspension in its entirety, Woodstock city leaders voted 4-0 to allow Pan to prove he's in compliance with city ordinance before he can reopen this company. Once he does that, he'll be subjected to a six-month probationary period with more frequent inspections by the city.

Daily Massage's operations appeared on the city's radar when code enforcement officer Keith Kenney paid a visit to the business in early July. Kenney, along with Woodstock police officer Shane Bonebrake, went inside the business to find Pan, the only licensed massage therapist at the business, sitting behind a desk in the front room while an unlicensed woman was administering a massage to a client in another room. The woman was cited, and she was required to attend a Municipal Court hearing on July 9 where she paid the fine.

Woodstock police and code enforcement officers showed up July 13 for a re-inspection and when they entered the location, they allegedly saw Pan run to the back rooms, pull women from those rooms and shove them to another locations in the building.

Officer Bonebrake told the Council that when he and Kenney stepped inside the business, he allegedly saw Pan jump up from the front desk and make a beeline for the areas where the two women were.

"I saw him grab the female and push her down the hallway," he said. The officer said the woman made a run for it towards the back door. When he tried to grab her, Bonebrake said the woman was "literally covered in massage oil," so she slipped from his grip. He asked her to come back inside, which she did.

Bonebrake said both women were cited for providing massages without the proper licenses and Pan was cited for knowingly allowing multiple people to practice without a license. Following the observations made on the re-inspection, the city decided to suspend Pan's license. City code does allow for business owners to appeal the administrative decision to the City Council.

Pan's attorney, John Edwards, said Pan was granted asylum by the United States in 2011 and while he struggles with English, he has been able to buy a "modest" home and become a citizen of the city. While he said anyone who operates a business in the city should be aware of the rules and regulations, he noted his client's language barrier could be the reason why he couldn't figure out what the city's code says. After going over the city's code with a person who was fluent in Mandarin Chinese, Edwards said Pan's face lit up with the understanding of what he has to do to legally operate in the city.

"He believes in this country, and he believes in the opportunity that this country offers," Edwards said, noting the city should show some compassion and understanding.

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Speaking through a translator and his attorney, Pan said he had to immigrate to the U.S. after authorities found he was helping his family find a private place to practice Christianity. After the government found out, he was expelled from public office where he was an elected official and had to flee China, he said.

Since coming to the states, he's paid his taxes each year while working to become a massage therapist. He borrowed money to help buy a home and to get his business up and running. If his shop was forced to close, "I don't know what to do," he said.

Councilwoman Tracy Collins said she believed Pan "knows what's going on," as he rushed to push the women out of the massage rooms. Edwards said the biggest factor in the case has been communication. He repeated his plea for the city of Woodstock to show some empathy.

“Put him on probation, and don’t totally destroy his life," he said.

Councilman Warren Johnson said when one looks at the allegations, it's clear that Pan did violate the city codes. However, Johnson questioned whether those actions would be worth the revocation of a person's business license, adding he has a "hard time" with taking away a person's livelihood.

Council members unanimously agreed to the six-month probationary period, provided that Pan obtains a translator to make sure he understands the city's code.

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