More caught for unlicensed drugs

[Xing Cai]

Singapore
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Jan 11, 2010

More caught for unlicensed drugs

<!-- by line --> By Kor Kian Beng
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MORE people are getting caught for peddling counterfeit medicines and prescription medicines without approval on the Internet. Similarly, more are being warned to remove or change their website contents. Last year, 13 people were either prosecuted or fined for such illegal sales, a steep increase from four people prosecuted in 2008. At the same time, 14 were warned about their website contents, double the number in 2008. In disclosing the figures on Monday, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Health Hawazi Daipi attributes the rise to intensified enforcement efforts by the Health Sciences Authority. He also warned that more severe penalties may be introduced if the trend persists. Mr Hawazi was reply to Mr Christopher De Souza (Holland-Bukit Timah GRC) and Ms Ellen Lee (Sembawang GRC), who asked about efforts to tackle the scourge of online sales of illicit drugs. The situation is under control, said Mr Hawazi, but he foresees an inevitable rise in such sales as Internet use becomes more pervasive.

Read the full story in Tuesday's edition of The Straits Times.

 

[General Veers]

More caught for selling medicines over the internet

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Channel NewsAsia - <abbr class="timedate" title="Tuesday, January 12">Tuesday, January 12</abbr></cite>

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More caught for selling medicines over the internet

</cite> SINGAPORE: More people have been caught selling medicines illegally online. Last year, 13 people were prosecuted or fined and 14 were told to remove or change their web postings. In 2008, four persons were prosecuted while seven received warnings about their web content. Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Health Hawazi Daipi said the increase was due to the intensified surveillance activities by the Health Sciences Authority. He assured MPs that while the sale of medicines through the Internet is a growing global problem, the situation in Singapore is under control. Singapore is working with local and foreign agencies to prevent illegal medicines from entering the country. Mr Hawazi said consumers must also play their part. He said: “Consumers must play their part in the fight against Internet sale of medicines. We will step up consumer awareness and education and remind Singaporeans that all medicines should be bought through legal channels and from trusted sources. "However, with the increasing use of the Internet, there will inevitably be a rise in Internet purchases of medicines. We will continue to explore other measures to tackle illegal Internet sales of medicine. If necessary, we will not hesitate to raise the penalties on offenders selling adulterated and counterfeit medicines." —CNA/vm