Kota Kinabalu: A beauty care operator was fined RM15,000 or 30 days’ jail by the Sessions Court here for having unregistered pharmaceutical products, two years ago.
Penny Prescila Aping, 36, pleaded guilty before Judge Marlina Ibrahim to keeping 22 types of unregistered products, including various injections, ampoules, vials and creams, at her outlet FA Nayla Beauty Care in CPS Tower, Centre Point Sabah, on Feb 22, 2023, at 11.15am.
Among the items seized as stated in the charge were lidocaine vials, J-Cain cream, Aminogen-X injection, Glutax whitening products and other ampoules containing unidentified solutions.
The products, worth RM18,621 in total, were not registered with the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency.
Penny had violated Regulation 7(1)(a) of the Control of Drugs and Cosmetics Regulations 1984, an offence under Section 30(1) of the same Regulations and is punishable under Section 12(1) of the Sale of Drugs Act 1952, which carries a fine of up to RM25,000 or three years’ jail, or both, for a first offence.
Unrepresented, Penny pleaded for leniency, saying she is the sole breadwinner as her husband is unemployed and she has two children to support.
She added that her business had suffered since the seized items were removed from her shop, and expressed remorse for the offence and assured the court she would not repeat it.
Pharmacy Department’s prosecuting officer, Muhammad Nurhalimi Ahmad Azmil, urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence, stressing that none of the seized products had been evaluated by the Drug Control Authority for quality, efficacy or safety.
“The use of unregistered products poses health risks and potential side effects to the consumers,” he said, adding that unqualified individuals performing aesthetic and dental procedures had been reported to cause complications, disability and even death.
The court ordered all the seized products to be forfeited for disposal under Section 13 of the Sale of Drugs Act 1952.
