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The New Paper
Saturday, May 26, 2012

After a year of investigation, Malaysia's health ministry has dealt a big blow to the country's largest fake Chinese medicine ring, which also supplied Singapore.

The ring had allegedly obtained chemicals from China and Taiwan, processed them, packaged them and sold them as medicine.

Thirty officers from the pharmaceutical services division of Subang Jaya raided a warehouse at about 10.30am yesterday.

During the raid, the ministry found over 100 boxes of more than 50 different "medicines", worth more than $460,000, China Press reported.

Mr Mohamed Hatta, a supervisor at the health ministry's pharmaceutical services division, said that at the time of the raid, there were three workers packaging the items.

The "medicines" they found in the raid had their ingredients and components listed on their packaging, but were believed to be fake.

Mr Mohamed said that these "medicines" had also been sold in Singapore, as they had received notices regarding them from Singapore's Ministry of Health.

These Chinese "medicines" included those that claimed to be for flu, cough, rheumatism and others.

But not only were they ineffective, they could also cause poisoning, he warned.

Mr Mohamed added that those arrested during the raid have had their statements taken.

The authorities are now working to capture the mastermind.

"We have only captured their packaging and supplying centre, but not the actual factory," he said.