THE Medical Device Authority (MDA) of the Health Ministry has seized various unregistered medical devices worth more than RM500,000 in five operations conducted in the Klang Valley, Johor and Kedah this year.

MDA chief executive P. Muralitharan said the four most commonly seized devices were disposable gloves, blood pressure monitors, condoms and contact lenses.

He said 16 companies have had their licence suspended, two have had their licence revoked, and nine companies have had their licence returned after they were found to be in compliance with the law.

In a September 13 operation, Muralitharan said, a company operating in Sentul, Kuala Lumpur, was found to have repeatedly committed the offence of distributing unregistered medical devices.

The company had its licence suspended in July after it was found to be distributing unregistered medical devices in the local market, and based on an intelligence report, it was found the company failed to comply with the instructions, he told a press conference in Cyberjaya today.

Also seized from the premises were seven boxes of disposable gloves, 33 boxes of syringes without needles, 90 boxes of blood lancets, 146 boxes of wooden tongue depressors, 1,098 spandex crepe bandages, disposable needles waste and nine sets of sales documents worth about RM10,000.

The case was investigated under section 25(1) of the Medical Devices Act 2012, which provides a fine of not more than RM200,000, imprisonment for three years, or both, upon conviction. – Bernama, October 5, 2023.