PETALING JAYA: More than a million unregistered medical devices worth RM1.68mil were seized nationwide by the Health Ministry between 2023 and 2025.
The Health Ministry said that through medical device enforcement activities, 15 raids were conducted over that period.
“During this period, 1,315,758 units of medical devices were confiscated, with total seizures valued at RM1,675,713.55.
“However, the Medical Device Authority (MDA) does not conduct house-to-house inspections as this falls outside its jurisdiction,” the ministry stated in a parliamentary written reply to Senator Norhasmimi Abdul Ghani at the Dewan Negara.
She had asked the ministry to outline measures to protect senior citizens and chronically ill patients from being targeted by scams involving medical devices and health products, including aggressive sales through door-to-door demonstrations and online platforms.
The ministry said 4,035 raids were carried out following public complaints, intelligence gathering and targeted monitoring at physical premises and online sales platforms, resulting in 43,122 unregistered health products seized.
“Monitoring and screening of medicine advertisements were also conducted across all media platforms.
“For new media, advertisement screening was carried out continuously across websites, social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube, as well as e-commerce platforms such as Shopee and Lazada,” the ministry added.
For health product advertisements found to have violated the relevant acts or regulations, enforcement action was taken, including content restriction or removal.
“A total of 52,618 URL links have been blocked or removed from e-commerce platforms. Also, warning letters, investigations and prosecutions have been carried out against offenders.
“In 2025, 4,058 advertisements were monitored and 3,084 links advertising unregistered medical devices taken down, along with 21 takedown notices issued to the parties involved,” it said.
The ministry and e-commerce platform operators have also forged cooperation to curb the widespread advertising and distribution of unregistered health products and medical devices.
“We do not encourage the purchase of health products and medical devices through e-commerce platforms, as they carry risks such as counterfeit or unregistered products, as well as sellers with no verified identity making questionable health claims.
“Legal action will be taken against any company or individual selling, distributing or marketing unregistered medical devices, including fines, product recalls and prosecution under Act 737.
“Any individual who violates Section 5(1) of the Medical Device Act 2012 (Act 737) by placing unregistered medical devices in the market may face a fine of up to RM200,000, jail of up to three years or both,” it said.
For the sale of unregistered health products, this constitutes a violation of Regulation 7(1)(a) of the Control of Drugs and Cosmetics Regulations 1984, an offence under Regulation 30(1) and punishable under Section 12(1) of the Sale of Drugs Act 1952.
For the first offence, a person may be fined up to RM25,000, jailed up to three years or both. For repeat offences, the penalty may be a fine of up to RM50,000, jail of up to five years or both.
A campaign called “Tolak Ubat Tidak Sah”, or “TOBaTS”, was launched in 2024 to combat the supply and sale of illegal pharmaceutical products.
Details on the campaign can be found at https://pharmacy.moh.gov.my/tobats
Other initiatives such as the Know Your Medicine Programme, Home Medication Review and Medication Therapy Adherence Clinic aim to grow understanding of diseases and medications, and empower them to make informed decisions and avoid falling victim to health product scams.
