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A medicine company in Jordan was raided by the Department of Health (DH) and the Police today (January 23). The shop was found to be selling an unregistered pharmaceutical product.
Upon the investigation of a public complaint, the DH found an unregistered pharmaceutical product, namely Calcium & Vitamin D, was being offered for sale by a medicine company in Jordan. The product was labelled as containing vitamin D, which is a pharmaceutical product. A Hong Kong pharmaceutical product registration number was not found on the product label. Products containing vitamin D are over-the-counter medicines used as vitamin supplements. During the operation, two salesmen (aged 51 and 20) of the medicine company were arrested for illegal sale and possession of an unregistered pharmaceutical product.
In addition, the product's distributor located at Kwai Chung was also raided. Preliminary investigation revealed that the unregistered pharmaceutical product was sourced by this distributor from outside Hong Kong. The distributor was instructed to recall the product from the market. A 47-year-old man at the distributor was arrested for illegal sale and possession of an unregistered pharmaceutical product.
The DH's investigation is continuing.
According to the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance (Cap 138), all pharmaceutical products must be registered with the Pharmacy and Poisons Board before they can be sold legally in the market. The sale or possession of unregistered pharmaceutical products is a criminal offence. The maximum penalty for each offence is a fine of $100,000 and two years' imprisonment.
A DH spokesperson strongly urged members of the public not to buy or use unregistered pharmaceutical products from the market as such products have not been evaluated by the Board and their safety, quality and efficacy may not be guaranteed. Members of the public should consult health-care professionals for advice if they are in doubt or feeling unwell after using the product concerned.
All registered pharmaceutical products should carry a Hong Kong registration number on the package in the format of "HK-XXXXX". Members of the public who have bought the unregistered product with no registration number should stop using it immediately. They may submit it to the Drug Office of the DH at Room 1801, Wu Chung House, 213 Queen's Road East, Wan Chai, during office hours for disposal.
Ends/Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Issued at HKT 20:12
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