The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by Hao Jyh-hwa (郝治華), who is the husband of Representative to Brunei Vanessa Shih (史亞平), and sentenced him to 10 years and 11 months for importing and selling unapproved cosmetic injectables, the court said on Tuesday.
The verdict is final, but the execution of the sentence is to be determined by prosecutors’ request to the court, it said in a statement.
Hao was convicted on 28 criminal counts, including importing and selling banned cosmetic injectables, and sentenced to 13 years and 11 months by the Taichung District Court.
Photo: Chang Wen-chuan, Taipei Times
The district court said in its ruling that Hao, then-director of a cosmetic clinic in Taichung, instructed his employees from 2009 to 2012 to purchase injectable drugs from a German company that were not approved by Taiwan’s health authorities and offered anti-aging treatment plans to promote the injectables.
After an appeal by Hao, the second instance was heard by the Taiwan High Court’s Taichung branch.
However, the High Court quashed the district court ruling based on the Food and Drug Administration’s opinion that there was insufficient evidence to determine that the liquid ingredients sold by the German company were “drugs” that could affect the structure and physiological functions of human body as stipulated in the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act (藥事法), and acquitted Hao of all charges.
The prosecutors appealed the case to the Supreme Court, which revoked the second ruling and ordered a new trial.
The High Court’s Taichung branch found in the new trial that Hao claimed the German Vitorgan ingredient had anti-aging effects and planned a course of treatment covering invasive procedures, proving the product was medication used to diagnose, treat, alleviate or prevent human diseases, as defined in the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act.
The court handed down a sentence of 10 years and 11 months in prison.
Hao filed an appeal against the decision, which was rejected by the Supreme Court.
The verdict is final.
Three years ago, Hao was sentenced to two years and eight months for contravening the Criminal Code — by injecting a hydrogel substance containing polyacrylamide, a suspected carcinogen, into the breasts of multiple women for breast enhancement — for fraud and the offense of importing drugs and medical devices without approval under the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act.
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