Police officers and Department of Health officials raided a Mong Kok retailer on Friday, seizing unregistered pharmaceutical products.
A 58 year old woman was arrested by the police for suspected illegal sale of Part 1 poison and unregistered pharmaceutical product as a result of the raid.
Acting on a tipoff from a consumer, officials found the store was offering for sale a product called Naprogesic, which was labelled as containing a Part 1 poison, naproxen. No Hong Kong pharmaceutical product registration number was found on the product’s label.
“Products containing naproxen are prescription medicines which should only be used under the advice of a doctor and can only be supplied at pharmacies under the supervision of a registered pharmacist upon a doctor’s prescription,” said a spokesman for the DH
“Naproxen is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug indicated for the relief of pain. Side-effects include gastrointestinal discomfort, nausea and peptic ulcers.”
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 sold legally in the market. Illegal sale or possession of unregistered pharmaceutical products and Part 1 poisons are criminal offences. The maximum penalty for each offence is a fine of $100,000 and two years’ imprisonment.
“Members of the public should not use controlled medicines on their own without prior advice from a doctor,” the spokesman said.
The DH strongly urges members of the public not to buy or use unregistered pharmaceutical products as their safety, quality and efficacy are not guaranteed. All registered pharmaceutical products should carry a Hong Kong registration number on their package in the format of “HK-XXXXX”.