Celebrities face the music as health brand runs afoul of FDA

[webfact]

Celebrities face the music as health brand runs afoul of FDA

By THE NATION

 

 

POLICE WILL soon summon 56 Thai celebrities for questioning over their alleged involvement with a well-known food-supplement brand accused of selling its products without proper licences, national police deputy chief Pol General Weerachai Songmetta said yesterday.

 

Weerachai warned celebrities to check the details of the goods, especially their legality, before reviewing or endorsing them.

 

His comments came after police on Sunday searched a factory in Pathum Thani province that produced items for Magic Skin Co Ltd, which has been accused of unauthorised use of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hallmarks and producing substandard products. 

 

The search followed complaints from several consumers, which also led to the arrests on Saturday of six suspects linked to the company and the freezing of its assets. 

 

 

Meanwhile, lawyer Kijja Ali-ishor, representing business owner Wannapa Poungson and her husband Korn Poungson, who are now facing a fraud probe, has sought release on bail for his clients at the Bangkok Criminal Court. The court already granted bails to the couple regarding initial complaint. However, as police filed several more complaints against them, more bail requests had to be submitted. 

 

The lawyer said the issue stemmed from labels on the products, which he claimed did not contain any dangerous ingredient, but cited a different manufacturing factory. He claimed that the firm had already been ordered by the FDA to make the correction. The lawyer believed that his clients were bullied due to a business conflict and would consider suing those defaming them.

 

 

The FDA’s deputy chief, pharmacist Somchai Preechathaweekit, said the authority had inspected the company’s factory in Nakhon Ratchasima province and found the site had no machines, ingredients and packaging used in the manufacture of the 227 cosmetic products registered by Wannapa.

 

This meant they were cosmetic products made by other manufacturing methods and facilities than those stated in the FDA registration. Thirty-nine products registered by the firm also had the same legal issue, the inspection concluded. 

 

Somchai dismissed the lawyer’s claim about FDA instruction for correction of the label as untrue because no one had asked for an investigation into the firm until recently.

 

Somchai said celebrities who helped promote such problematic products might be held accountable for advertising-related offences, punishable with up to Bt100,000 in fines and/or up to a year in jail. 

 

He urged consumers to check products’ FDA-registration numbers – which would soon come in the more-convenient QR code format.

 

A source at the police Crime Suppression Division said investigators were still questioning alleged victims as more people were filing complaints in this case. As of press time, no more arrest warrants had been sought.

 

The suspects initially taken into police custody were Wannapa, Korn, Kasit Worachingtan, Piraniti Tiranawatthuporn, Maiyasit Sawangthammarat, and Trichada Jaisabai. Maiyasit and Trichada were granted bail during the past weekend.

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-04-24

[Somtamnication]

Money buys anything here. Nothing new. 1 bad cosmetic company down, another 1000 yet to go. 

[YetAnother]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

and would consider suing those defaming them.

defamation, being criminalized here in thailand, is a horrid legal idea; in this case that negativity is extended by a public Threat of it's use

[bluesofa]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Somchai said celebrities who helped promote such problematic products might be held accountable for advertising-related offences, punishable with up to Bt100,000 in fines and/or up to a year in jail. 

 

He urged consumers to check products’ FDA-registration numbers – which would soon come in the more-convenient QR code format.

That's exactly what I asked yesterday when the story was first reported: "is it now up to presenters/marketers/sales staff to check the authenticity of FDA approvals?"

Looks like that is the case then.

 

On a positive note I see there's plans to make checking up on these approvals easier by use of the QR code.

I just hope that it works correctly, that there might be an English option, and it doesn't take years to complete.

When it is eventually up and running, it will of course require all manufacturers to amend their packaging to include the QR code.

Having said that, I can see the possibility of an unscrupulous company trying to use the QR code of a similar approved product in order to appear legitimate.

 

[thaichiro]

The fines levied by Thai law are a real joke. 100,000Bt is nothing to these celebrities and business crooks. If you really want compliance, make the fines and possible jail term so punitive that it will surely dissuade most evil doers from even considering breaking the law. Caning might be a good start!

[Bluespunk]

9 hours ago, webfact said:

The FDA’s deputy chief, pharmacist Somchai Preechathaweekit, said the authority had inspected the company’s factory in Nakhon Ratchasima province and found the site had no machines, ingredients and packaging used in the manufacture of the 227 cosmetic products registered by Wannapa.

 

This meant they were cosmetic products made by other manufacturing methods and facilities than those stated in the FDA registration.

So they are being charged because their product was made in a different factory, in a different manner,  from that registered?

 

Not because of problems with the product itself?

[farcanell]

These defamation suits are a modern third world bane.

true... you can’t have rampant defamation, so you must therefore have recourse... but damn.

 

imo, every defamation claim should automatically include a counter claim, as the origional claim calls someone a liar. These two claims should be considered at the same time, by the same judge (or whoever)

 

if the defamation claim fails (say because the business is illegally selling an unregistered product), then the counterclaim automatically wins, and the counter claimant gets the baht.

 

in tandem could be court imposed sanctions (fines) to reduce the instances of trivial persecution of others.

 

This would dramatically reduce the number of claims, perhaps leading to revised laws on defamation

 

[bluesofa]

6 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

So they are being charged because their product was made in a different factory, in a different manner,  from that registered?

 

Not because of problems with the product itself?

It does seem to indicate that, as stated by the The FDA’s deputy chief.

However:

9 hours ago, webfact said:

A source at the police Crime Suppression Division said investigators were still questioning alleged victims as more people were filing complaints in this case.

No details on what the claims were about. I'd doubt it was to do with "not having the proper licenses."