KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 29 (Bernama) -- A local cardiologist with 30 years of experience in the medical field, Prof Dr Chin Sze Piaw, was recently caught in a crossfire, when he came across an online article about him endorsing a herbal medical product that is believed to treat high blood pressure.
Dr Chin who is also a renowned researcher in the realm of stem cell expressed shock to come across an article about him endorsing a product which he was never interviewed for, which was shown to him by one of his patients, recently.
"They used my name and image, then created a fake interview. In that conversation they cited me saying that there are certain proven blood pressure medicines which ended up killing a famous Hollywood actor.
"They made me to ask people to stop having those medications and consume the one that is promoted in the article. I don’t even know about the product endorsed in the article before," he claimed at a press conference held at the MCA headquarters, here, today.
Dr Chin also emphasised that prescribed medicines by authorised doctors to heart patients that is proven in clinical research, should not be stopped from consumption, as it could result in medical complications.
He said such slander could easily mislead readers to stop consuming their life-saving medications over uncertified medical products while advising the public to check on their medications with doctors and the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA).
The cardiologist said, the online article noticed on Sept 25 in a private website, was reported to police on the same day, whereas a report to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) was lodged on Sept 27.
Meanwhile, Dr Chin’s lawyer Datuk Joy W. Appukuttan said that the action is identified as impersonation, false declaration, false statements and fake use of materials.
"When you are impersonating a person for a gain, there is a penal code for the police to take action against you and then there is also criminal defamation Section 499, when you do something intending to smear a person.
"Then there is misleading information which comes under MCMC's Act and another thing is unlawful use of personal data. They were using Prof Dr Chin's personal data to disseminate information for a profit in promoting the product," he said.
Similarly, MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong who chaired the press conference shared his experience where a picture of him was used to endorse a product to treat eye diseases, online, three years ago.
He added the medication endorsed was not certified by the Ministry of Health and has made people’s vision worst.
"They portrayed me holding herbs and asking people not to take medicine from their respective doctors. After buying the product, instead of getting better, their (people) vision actually became worse," he said.
Michael stressed that people should always consult their doctors before purchasing and consuming any medical products endorsed online, even if it was done by someone prominent.
-- BERNAMA
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