HONG KONG - The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government on Tuesday expressed grave concern over the suspected resale of public hospital patient medicines on an online platform and said that it will seriously deal with the incident.

The HKSAR government said in a statement that the Department of Health is liaising with the Hospital Authority to investigate the alleged case and take prompt enforcement action as appropriate.

A preliminary investigation showed that the incident involved a pharmaceutical product, Lactulose, which does not contain any substance listed in the Poisons List of the Pharmacy and Poisons Regulations.

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The HA traced the source of the drug based on the online pictures and believes that it was prescribed by a doctor upon the discharge of a patient who was admitted to Hong Kong Buddhist Hospital in 2023. The HA has contacted the patient to follow up on the incident.

If any illegal activity is found to be involved, the HA will pursue the matter seriously and report it to law enforcement agencies for further investigation, an HA spokesperson said.

The agency has strict procedures to handle and dispose of unused drugs, including those that have expired or have not been collected by patients, the spokesperson added.

The HA urged merchants selling drugs not to sell drugs from unknown sources. If there is any doubt about the source of drugs, they should report to relevant law enforcement and regulatory authorities.

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Under the city’s Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance, any product falling within the definition of "pharmaceutical products" must satisfy the criteria of safety, efficacy and quality, and must be registered with the Pharmacy and Poisons Board of Hong Kong before they can be sold or distributed in Hong Kong.

The illegal sale or possession of unregistered pharmaceutical products is a criminal offense and convicted offenders face a fine of up to HK$100,000 ($12,838) and imprisonment for two years.

The DH again reminded the public to refrain from purchasing or using products with unknown or dubious ingredients, or from unknown sources.