Authorities raided a medical clinic in Paranaque City and arrested a 44-year-old Chinese woman practicing medical profession and engaged in treating patients reportedly infected with coronavirus disease.
Members of the city’s Business Permit and Licensing Office, and Health Office conducted the raid at the clinic located at 3985 Lt. Garcia Street corner Airport Road in Barangay Baclaran where they also confiscated several boxes of medicines allegedly used to treat COVID-19 patients.
Arrested was Yumei Liang, also known as Liza Wu, a resident of Ayala Alabang, Muntinlupa City. She is now detained.
Reports showed that the suspect’s Philippine driver’s license was altered.
A Filipino utility boy identified as Hinya Rodriguez, who was at the building during the raid, was also apprehended by authorities, while a relative of Yumei managed to escape.
The authorities seized from the establishment assorted medicines, allegedly used to treat patients with COVID-19, and being sold at P100,000 per box. Each box contains 400 packs of 24 capsules per pack.
The packages of the medicine bear Chinese character markings and English markings “Linhua Qingwen Jiaonang”, “Shuang Huang Lian Kou Fu Ye” and compound amino acid injection manufactured by Kelum Pharmaceutical in China.
The assorted drugs were discovered at the third floor of the rented building. The authorities also noticed treatment beds at the fourth floor of the building.
BPLO chief lawyer Melanie Marquez-Malaya said they found out that the medical clinic was operating since the government imposed the Enhanced Community Quarantine in Luzon.
Malaya said the Chinese woman violated the revenue code and several city ordinances. She added the suspect was operating without necessary permits from the city government and violated Republic Act 3720 (Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 2009) and RA 11469 (the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act).
Malaya said the suspect “doesn’t know how to speak English nor local dialect when city hall officials interrogated her after the raid. She also refused to reveal the supplier of her smuggled drugs.”
There were reports that fellow Chinese nationals were the clients or patients of the suspect. The clients entered the establishment using the back door of the old building.
According to Mayor Edwin Olivarez, his men were trying to locate the sources of the unregistered anti-COVID-19 medicines, which he said, were not registered with or approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
Olivarez said they are now coordinating with the National Bureau of Investigation if the suspect was in cahoot with another Chinese national identified as Shi Jian Chuan who was arrested in an entrapment operation for selling medicines for the deadly disease.
He said the drugs confiscated from Yumei were almost the same capsules confiscated from Shi when he was arrested by NBI agents during their operation in Binondo, Manila.
The NBI made the arrest after they received information that there was a group of Chinese nationals engaged in online selling of capsules claiming to cure COVID-19.
Olivarez appealed to the Bureau of Immigration to immediately deport the unlicensed foreign doctor for disregarding city ordinances and laws, and for operating the clandestine clinic during the pandemic.
