AGENCY: UNCOOPERATIVE SUPPLIERS HINDER WAR ON IMITATION DRUGS by

from BERNAMA The Malaysian National News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, March 31 (Bernama) The Enforcement
Division of the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs
Ministry faces difficulty in combating the imitation drug
menace because of uncooperative genuine suppliers, its
DirectorGeneral Datuk Haji Abdul Jabar Kamin said today.

"This is because genuine suppliers are reluctant to
cooperate with the ministry in taking the culprits to
court," he told a news confrence here. In a latest case
uncovered in Pulau Pinang, the owner of a building used for
printing boxes and containers of imitation drugs, simply
refused to expose those responsible, he said.

"Although we have sealed the place, the owner refused
to tell us who had ordered the printing of those
containers. In fact the owner is prepared to face legal
action rather than exposing the culprits," he said.

In that case, enforcemnt officers raided a building in
Lebuh Nangka 2, Taman Desa Damai, Bukit Mertajam last March
6, and seized several boxes of imitation painkiller
tablets of a leading brand name. MORE

Imitation 2 (Last) Kuala Lumpur

On further investigations, the officers raided another
premises in Jalan Raja Uda, Butterworth and seized empty
wrappers and containers for chocolates, liniments and
cigarettes.

In the past 15 months, enforcement officers had
conducted checks on 941 premises, of which 81 were cited
for violation of the Trade Description Act 1971. A total of
123,284 tablets of imitation painkiller of that brand
worth RM21,877 in sales value were also seized.

Copyright 1997 Bernama