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A retail shop in To Kwa Wan was raided by the Department of Health (DH) and the Police in a joint operation today (April 9) for suspected sale of an unregistered pharmaceutical product.
Upon the investigation of a public complaint, the DH found that the shop was selling a suspected unregistered pharmaceutical product, namely "VietaMas Super Calcium". The product was labelled as containing vitamin D, which is a pharmaceutical product. Products containing vitamin D are over-the-counter medicines used as nutritional supplements. No Hong Kong pharmaceutical product registration number was found on the product label.
During the operation, three women aged between 44 and 51 were arrested by the Police for illegal sale of an unregistered pharmaceutical product.
According to the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance (Cap 138), all pharmaceutical products must be registered with the Pharmacy and Poisons Board of Hong Kong before they can be legally sold in the market. Sale and possession of unregistered pharmaceutical products are criminal offences. The maximum penalty for each offence is a fine of $100,000 and two years' imprisonment.
The DH's investigation is continuing.
A DH spokesman 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 are not guaranteed. All registered pharmaceutical products should carry a Hong Kong registration number on the package in the format "HK-XXXXX".
Members of the public who have bought the above product should stop taking it immediately, and consult health-care professionals if they are in doubt or feeling unwell after using it. They may submit the product to the Drug Office of the DH at Room 1856, Wu Chung House, 213 Queen's Road East, Wan Chai, during office hours for disposal.
Ends/Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Issued at HKT 17:37
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