Prosecution for Sale of Illegal Weight Loss Products

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye asked the Minister for Health (a) how many persons have been prosecuted in the past three years for the sale of illegal weight loss products; (b) whether there are plans to regulate the import and sale of weight loss products; and (c) what steps are taken by the Ministry to ensure that such products are safe for consumption.

Mr Gan Kim Yong: The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) adopts a risk-based approach in the regulation of health products. Pharmaceutical medicines, which contain inherently potent medicinal ingredients and are used in disease treatments, are stringently evaluated by HSA before they can be approved for registration. Supplements and traditional medicines do not require registration, but any addition of potent medicinal ingredients in such products are prohibited.

HSA also carries out post-market surveillance, adverse reaction monitoring and routine sampling and testing on the safety of marketed health products. When unsafe products are detected, HSA issues alerts to keep the public informed and takes action against the parties concerned. Dealers who import and supply products containing prohibited ingredients are liable to prosecution and if convicted, may be imprisoned for up to three years and/or fined up to $100,000.

In the past three years, HSA has prosecuted three persons for selling illegal weight loss products that contained undeclared medicinal ingredients. The illegal weight loss products are typically purchased by consumers over the Internet or overseas. HSA has thus been conducting public education on the dangers of buying products from unfamiliar sources, unknown websites or persons posting offers on online platforms.