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She's 16, and she re-sold illegal pills online
Student among six people nabbed by HSA in Interpol-led sting on fake medicine sold online
by Andre Yeo
05:55 AM Nov 04, 2010
Illegal drugs seized by HSA. Photo by ERNEST CHUA
SINGAPORE - She bought two packets of slimming pills online but suffered adverse reactions such as a dry throat after using them. To cut her losses of $220, she sold them online for $130.
The Singaporean student, 16, ended up being the youngest person ever nabbed by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) for an online-related offence. HSA deputy director (enforcement branch) Ruth Lee, 47, said: "We were shocked when we caught her. We didn't feel good ... She's too young."
As investigations continue into a major Interpol-led operation against fake medicine sold online in 45 countries, the authorities here shared with MediaCorp yesterday the details of Operation Pangea III, which saw three Singaporeans and three China nationals here being apprehended.
Between Oct 5 and 12, HSA senior regulatory inspector (enforcement branch) Beatrice Poh, 33, and her team trawled through popular online forums and social networking sites for suspects, which was when they made contact with the student.
Once she completed the transaction with undercover HSA officers at Bugis MRT Station, four of them swooped in and later searched her home for more medicines. The two packets were all she had. In total, $7,000 worth of fake medicines were seized from the six suspects here, who have not been charged yet.
According to the HSA, illegal online medicines are becoming a worldwide scourge, thought to run into the billions. The World Health Organisation estimates that more than half of medicines sold online are fake.
HSA division director (enforcement) Chan Cheng Leng, 46, said most of the ones sold here are lifestyle medicines claiming to treat conditions such as erectile dysfunction and obesity. Sufferers ashamed of the stigma associated with them would buy the medicines online, she said. Most are in their 20s and 30s and are Internet-savvy.
But Ms Chan warned that what you see is not what you will get: Sexual enhancement pills have turned out to be slimming pills; slimming pills have been found to contain substances to treat constipation. So far, there have been no reported deaths here from fake online medicines. But Ms Chan pointed out: "You're putting things in your body that can cause harm. The health risks aren't worth it."
The HSA told MediaCorp the profit margin for selling such products can range between 200 and 900 per cent, with a $5 box of a hair loss product being sold for $50. In May last year, the HSA attached officers to SingPost to train its employees how to spot suspicious packages. The number of packages referred to the HSA for inspection jumped to 191 that month, up from 33 in April last year. It now averages 70 to 80 packages monthly.
Under the Poisons Act, anyone convicted of selling prescription drugs or counterfeit drugs online can be jailed up to two years and fined $10,000. Last year, 34 people were arrested. There are already 39 cases so far this year. Said Ms Lee: "Everything about it (fake medicine) is a lie, from the packaging to the product. You don't know where it came from or what's in it."
