GEORGE TOWN, July 15 — The Penang State Health Department (JKNPP) has confiscated 255 boxes of unregistered traditional Chinese medicine called Lianhua Qingwen Jiaonang worth RM7,000 in a series of raids conducted in the state from July last year until June 25.
Its director Datuk Dr Asmayani Khalib said the raids, under the operations codenamed Op Tonkerbell, Op Prangin, Op Dapur and Op Yao were conducted by JKNPP pharmaceutical services enforcement officers based on intelligence gathered.
“The raids were carried out on residences, eateries, Chinese medicine shops and kiosks in a shopping mall and preliminary investigations found that the product was believed to have been brought in from China illegally.
“It has been claimed that the unregistered product can treat COVID-19 infection effectively which is feared could cause public confusion,” she said in a statement today.
Dr Asmayani said further investigations would be conducted based on the Sale of Drugs Act 1952 for violating Regulation 7(1)(a) of the Control of Drugs and Cosmetics Regulations 1984.
She also advised the public to ensure that every health products have the hologram security sticker and a Product Registration Number (MAL) before proceeding to make the purchase.
Product registration number and notifications can be found at www.npra.moh.gov.my or by contacting the National Pharmacy Call Centre at 1- 800-88-6722.
The public can also check the product’s registration status by downloading the NPRA Product Status application from Google Play Store, Apple App Store or Huawei AppGallery.
