In brief
A company was charged with manufacturing more than 430,000 three-ply surgical masks between October 2020 and April 2021 without a valid manufacturer’s licence.
Key takeaways
- Section 12 of the Health Products Act (HPA) prohibits anyone from manufacturing any health product unless they (i) hold a valid manufacturer’s licence; and (ii) carry out said manufacture in accordance with the conditions of the licence. Health products are, in turn, widely defined so as to include medical devices such as surgical masks.
- Anyone found to have manufactured a health product without a valid manufacturer’s licence may be imprisoned for up to two years, and/or fined up to SGD 50,000 upon conviction. The maximum fine may be doubled if the offender is a corporation.
Background
A company was charged with manufacturing more than 430,000 three-ply surgical masks between October 2020 and April 2021 without a valid manufacturer’s licence.
The company, which indicated on its website that it locally manufactures “medical grade surgical masks”, is set to plead guilty to the charges this month.
A list of locally manufactured surgical masks that are licensed by the Health Sciences Authority may be found here.
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