TR EMERITUS

Hi TRE, I had a bad experience from Hock Hua TCM, reported it to HSA but was waived off as a one-off mistake from Hock Hua. Pls share my post as a warning to the others. I bought a Chinese herb from Hock Hua Toa Payoh Lor 4 branch. The item looked different from the original but the sales girl insists it's the actual item. Trusting the reputable shop I purchased the item. However the difference in taste caused me to check the item with several TCM shops, all the shops told me it's not the item I bought. I brought this up to HSA, after checking with Hock Hua, they mentioned that it is indeed not the real item but a substitute sold in some provinces of China! Gosh, I would have thought a reputable shop like Hock Hua would have some standard QC, this is indeed disappointing, do be careful when you buy items from them.   Mei * * * * * * * [Letter from reader Mei to hockhuagroup.com.sg on 1 Mar 2014] On Saturday, March 1, 2014, Mei <**********@hotmail.com> wrote: Hi, I recently purchased 石斛 from Toa Payoh Lorong 4 branch. It comes in a packet. It looked different from the usual 石斛 that I normally purchased. When queried, the sales lady told me and my husband that it is of better quality and thus it looked different and was more expensive than the usual ones I buy. Trusting your staff, I bought it. To my dismay, not only did it looked different, it also tasted different- it tasted sour. I brought it to a few other TCM shops and they told me it is unlikely 石斛 . I have always trusted your shop and had selected your shop over others. This made me trust your sales personnel and buy the items even though it looked different and cost more. This experience was really disappointing and made me regret being a member of your organization. I still have the 石斛 that I purchased and hope someone can make an arrangement to clarify why this item, one that many other TCMs told me is unlikely 石斛, is sold to me in the first place by your staff. You can contact me at 9*******. Thank you. * * * * * * * [Letter from HSA to reader Mei on 19 Mar 2014] From: [email protected] Sent: Wednesday, 19 March, 2014 11:30:02 AM To: Mei Subject: RE: HSA-1403-00587: Purchased item query HSA:011500002287 Dear Meiling Thank you for your patience while we look into the matter. We have sought clarification from HockHua on your feedback and it had clarified that the herb you had purchased is used in some provinces in China as a substitute of 石斛. With that, please contact the company directly for further clarification and recourse, if required. Yours sincerely Angie Tan | Senior Regulatory Manager | Complementary Health Products Branch | Pre-Marketing | Health Products Regulation Group 11 Biopolis Way #11-01 Helios Singapore 138667  | Visit us at http://www.hsa.gov.sg Health Sciences Authority | To be the leading innovative authority protecting & advancing national health & safety < To wisely regulate health products < To serve the administration of justice < To secure the nation’s blood supply < To  safeguard public health * * * * * * * [Letter from reader Mei to Angie Tan of HSA on 21 Mar 2014] On Friday, March 21, 2014, Mei <*********@gmail.com> wrote: Hi Angie, If it is a substitute of an original medicine, should it not be highlighted that it is a substitute instead of selling the substitute as the original item. Pls advise if this is correct from HSA governance point of view. Note that it was sold to us as 石斛 and not as a substitute. Appreciate your assistance to ensure consumer confidence in TCM products especially when it is sold by HockHua, a shop with so many branches. Appreciate your prompt reply or let me know who else in your organization should I bring this up to. Thanks. * * * * * * * [Reader Mei tried another time to engage the authorities by contacting MOH via its Facebook page. MOH then routed Mei's questions to HSA again. Mei managed to talk to a Julia Ji from HSA this time. According to Mei, Julia Ji told her that HSA will only take actions if a lot of people complain. Her case, to HSA, is just a one-off case. Julia Ji then told Mei that they will monitor if there are more complaints. Mei is amazed that how HSA can handle such a situation so lightly. Following is the letter from HSA to Mei confirming the phone conservations on 31 Mar 2014] On Monday, March 31, 2014, HSA CHP (HSA) <[email protected]> wrote: We refer to your feedback to MOH via MOH Facebook on the incident related to your purchase of a Chinese medicinal herb at Hock Hua and we thank you for taking time to allow us to further clarify this matter over the phone.As spoken, upon receiving your feedback, HSA had contacted the company concerned to seek an explanation on the matter and the company has since taken the necessary corrective actions. We were also given the understanding that the company is seeking the opportunity to address your concerns directly if you are amenable. If you require further assistance on this matter, kindly contact me at 68663452. Thanks & Regards, Julia Ji Julia Ji Xinyan | Ag Deputy Director/Regulatory Consultant | Complementary Health Products Branch | Pre-Marketing Division | Health Products Regulation Group 11 Biopolis Way, #11-01, Helios, Singapore 138667 | Visit us at http://www.hsa.gov.sg Health Sciences Authority | To be the leading innovative authority protecting & advancing national health & safety < To wisely regulate health products < To serve the administration of justice < To secure the nation’s blood supply < To  safeguard public health * * * * * * * [Reader Mei replied to Julia Ji of HSA on the same day, 31 Mar 2014] From: *********@gmail.com Sent: Monday, 31 March, 2014 5:16:12 PM To: <HSA CHP General> Cc: <QSM>; Mei Subject: Re: HSA-1403-03137: Purchased item query HSA:011500002287 Hi Julia, Thanks for the chat. As spoken, pls assist to provide the explanation given by Hock Hua and how they will be preventing this in writing. I am fine that you can't share your correspondences with Hock Hua, but as the victim of buying an item from Hock Hua different from what is mentioned on the label and as explained by the sales girl, pls assist to provide the explanation and preventive actions in writing. Appreciate your assistance in this matter. Mei  * * * * * * * [Finally, on 2 Apr 2014, HSA replied back to reader Mei giving her the following answer] From: HSA CHP (HSA) <[email protected]> Date: Wednesday, April 2, 2014 Subject: HSA-1403-03137: Purchased item query HSA:011500002287 To: "*********@gmail.com" <*********@gmail.com>, "**********@hotmail.com" <**********@hotmail.com> Cc: "HSA Info (HSA)" <[email protected]> We refer to your email dated 31 March 2014 following our tele-conversation on the same day.As spoken, upon receiving your feedback, HSA had looked into the matter and the company has taken the necessary corrective actions and preventive measures. We were also given the understanding that the company is seeking the opportunity to address your concerns directly if you are amenable. With this, we hope the incident could be satisfactorily resolved. Thanks & Regards, Julia Ji Julia Ji Xinyan | Ag Deputy Director/Regulatory Consultant | Complementary Health Products Branch | Pre-Marketing Division | Health Products Regulation Group 11 Biopolis Way, #11-01, Helios, Singapore 138667 | Visit us at http://www.hsa.gov.sg Health Sciences Authority | To be the leading innovative authority protecting & advancing national health & safety < To wisely regulate health products < To serve the administration of justice < To secure the nation’s blood supply < To  safeguard public health    Read More →

DPM Teo During the Parliamentary debate today (9 Jul), DPM Teo Chee Hean revealed that some Singaporeans, although only a "handful" of them, are currently in Syria participating in the Syrian conflict. One of them, apparently, was an Indian national but became a Singaporean new citizen. “The Government knows of a handful of Singaporeans who have gone to Syria to take part in the conflict. One of them is Haja Fakkurudeen Usman Ali (Haja), a naturalised Singapore citizen of Indian origin. He brought his wife and three children then aged between 2 and 11 with him,” Mr Teo said. “Another female Singaporean is believed to have gone to Syria with her foreign husband and two teenaged children. The whole family is taking part in the conflict in various ways, either joining the terrorist groups to fight, or providing aid and support to the fighters," he added. The Syrian crisis has raised the threat of terrorism in Singapore. The Syrian civil war started in 2011 when mass protests broke out against the Bashar al-Assad government. The conflict has grown into a security concern for many countries including Singapore. As many as 12,000 foreigners may have already been fighting in Syria and the the number is said to be growing. During the course of the Syrian civil war, many foreign fighters have been documented to have fought for Syria's rebel forces, either for the Al-Nusra Front, the Free Syrian Army or other factions. Fighters include those from the Gulf Arab states, Tunisia, Libya, Bosnia, China, Russia's Chechnya and even Western countries. The conflict has taken on a largely sectarian bent with foreign Sunnis fighting for the opposition, while foreign Shias fighting for the government. Mr Teo said that several Singaporeans had intended to travel to Syria or other conflict zones to engage in jihadist violence, but were detected before they could proceed with plans. There are others who have expressed interest to join in the fight, and are currently under investigation. "We have established that they had been radicalised by the videos, articles and social media postings online. They subscribed to the sectarian-religious or ideological rhetoric that calls for engaging in militant jihad in Syria," said Mr Teo. The fear is that the foreign fighters may later return home with terrorist skills and trainings. Mr Teo cautioned, “They may undertake terrorist activities in their home countries or overseas, or at the very least provide logistical and operational help to terrorists whom they befriended in Syria. This has already happened. UK and French nationals who returned from fighting in Syria have already targeted Central London and the French Riviera respectively." "Indeed, any Singaporean who assists violent organisations like the Al-Nusra Front, IS or any other violent group, would have demonstrated a dangerous tendency to support, or resort to, violence to pursue a political or ideological cause. They would thus pose a real threat to Singapore's national security," he told Parliament. Mr Teo said he will be meeting religious leaders from various faiths tomorrow (10 Jul) to discuss the issue, so that the community can tackle any potential fallout together.    Read More →

JDAM The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) issued a press statement on Monday (7 Jul) [Link], announcing that it has notified the US Congress last week of plans to sell the government of Singapore an arms package consisting of Joint Direct Attack Munition kits, or JDAMs, manufactured by Boeing, plus associated equipment, parts, training, and logistical support. The JDAM kits will enable conventional 'dumb' bombs to be converted into laser-guided precision 'smart' bombs. Nearly 1,000 of such JDAM kits have been ordered by MINDEF. DSCA is an agency under the US Department of Defense (DoD). It promotes military-to-military contacts and provides financial and technical assistance, transfer of defense technologies, training and services to US allies. It is founded on a tradition of cooperation between the United States and other sovereign nations with similar values and interests in order to meet common defense goals. Specifically, the weapons that MINDEF has requested to buy include: 913 KMU-556B/B JDAM kits, which are used to convert conventional Mk-84 2000-lb "dumb" bombs into guidable "smart" bombs 100 FMU-152A/B fuzes, which can be set to explode the bombs on impact, at a set proximity to target, or be "delayed" to explode after impact. 300 DSU-40 Precision Laser Guidance Sets, used to guide the smart bombs to their targets. Also included are containers, munition trailers, support equipment, spare and repair parts, test equipment, publications and technical documentation, personnel training and training equipment, US Government and contractor engineering and technical support, and other related elements of logistics support. The total estimated cost is US$63 million. DSCA said that Singapore is requesting these guidance sets, services and equipment to sustain its "air-to-ground weapons stockpiles and to accommodate training expenditures". It added, "This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy objectives and strategic national security objectives of the United States by supporting Singapore as a key regional partner in counter-terrorism and an important force for political stability and economic progress in South East Asia." "This sale will enable the RSAF to sustain mission-ready status to ensure it can contribute to coalition operations and meet its national defense requirements. Singapore maintains a large CONUS F-15SG training presence at Mountain Home AFB. A portion of these munitions are anticipated for use at this CONUS training facility, and will enable RSAF pilots to practice using GPS-guided munitions that will further refine their combat capability. Singapore should have no difficulty absorbing these additional munitions into its armed forces," DSCA said. DSCA also assured the US Congress that this sale of military equipment "will not alter the basic military balance in the region". "This notice of a potential sale is required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded," DSCA clarified. The final sale is subjected to the approval of US Congress. All questions regarding this proposed US military equipment sale should be directed to the State Department's Bureau of Political Military Affairs, Office of Congressional and Public Affairs, [email protected], DSCA said.  Read More →