Mobile Phone Retailer Slapped With RM10,000 Fine For Selling Unregistered Covid-19 Medicine In Sabah
The company said that it sells the products for side income due to the pandemic situation.
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A mobile phone retailer was fined RM10,000 for selling unregistered medical products marketed as an alternative treatment for Covid-19,, New Strait Times reported.
Sessions Court Judge Elsie Primus handed the sentence to Dex Communication Sdn Bhd after its director pleaded guilty to the charge of having 1,800 boxes of “Lianhua Qingwen Jiaonang” capsules on 7 September 2021 at 10.52am at the company premises in Asia City Complex, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.
The capsules, estimated to be worth RM36,000 and were not registered with the Ministry of Health (MoH), which violated Regulation 7(1) (a) of the Control of Drugs and Cosmetics Regulations 1984, an offence under Regulation 30(1) of the same Regulations 1984.
During the mitigation, the defence counsel Chin Tek Ming asked for leniency as the company sold the products for side income due to the pandemic situation.
However, Pharmaceutical Division principal assistant director (enforcement) Mad Sapri Tumiran, who prosecuted the case, asked for an appropriate sentence as a lesson as the seized haul is the highest amount of the unregistered product recorded in the country.
Mad Sapri said that it is suspected that the product was bought by the company, which has 10 branches in Sabah, to be distributed throughout state, which is seen as exploiting the fear of Sabahan who were worried for their health
“This product is not registered with the Health Ministry. It is also not known where it is manufactured. If something happens to consumers as a result of using these unregistered products, no party can be called upon to withdraw this product from the market.
“Therefore, for the safety and health of the public, we at the ministry request the court to give a severe and maximum punishment to the accused. This will not only provide a lesson to the accused but will serve as a stern warning to other errant traders,” he was quoted saying.
Sabah is one of the worst-hit state by Covid 19 with 4.53 million cases and 35,752 death recorded since the pandemic hit the country.
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