Health supplement store owner sells counterfeit medicine; one bottle of "Viagra" results in a five-month sentence. On July 1, 2007, at 1:07 PM, Source: Evening News, Author: Jiao Xiaohong, Editor: Chen Shibia.
The owner of a health supplement store, surnamed Zhang, and his wife placed 162 bottles of fake "Viagra" in their adult health product store and sold one bottle for RMB 2000. As a result, the couple was prosecuted. Recently, the Huangpu Court sentenced the two defendants to five months of detention.
Zhang and his wife operated an adult health product store on Huashan Road in the city. In 2005, they had their daughter (handled separately) deliver 162 bottles of counterfeit 30-pill packs of "Viagra" produced by Pfizer from their home to the store. They then sold one bottle for RMB 2000. The incident was uncovered by the Huangpu Branch of the Shanghai Food and Drug Administration. Law enforcement officers also found 161 bottles of counterfeit "Viagra" in the store.
The Huangpu Branch of the Food and Drug Administration determined that all 162 bottles of "Viagra" were counterfeit. The defense attorney argued that the counterfeit medicine sold by Zhang and his wife did not reach the level defined by criminal law as "sufficiently likely to seriously endanger human health," and due to timely intervention by law enforcement, no actual harm occurred.
The court ruled that the counterfeit "Viagra" seized contained uneven drug content, did not meet standards, and was sufficient to seriously endanger personal health, as evidenced by drug inspection reports. Therefore, the court rejected the defense's opinion. Zhang and his wife were found guilty of selling counterfeit medicine. Given their good attitude towards confessing their crimes, Zhang was sentenced to five months of detention and fined RMB 2000. His wife was sentenced to four months of detention, suspended for four months, and fined RMB 2000.
Judge's Explanation:
In judicial practice, the determination of whether something is a "counterfeit drug" is usually made by government pharmaceutical supervision departments based on qualitative and quantitative analysis conclusions provided by designated pharmaceutical inspection institutions. To determine if the counterfeit drug has reached the level of "sufficiently likely to seriously endanger human health," a strict judgment is required.
Since "sufficiently" refers to a presumption or possibility rather than an objective reality, it is necessary to strictly follow evidence rules and requirements, with experts or specialized institutions conducting appraisals and providing clear conclusions. Relevant thematic articles:
Article reprinted from: http:///www.gz-weige.cn