Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Court Issues 1-Year Prison Sentence for Aplex Representative


Sat 31 Oct 2020 | 11:43 PM
Taarek Refaat

The Cairo Economic Court issued a ruling for the responsible legal representative of Aplex, serving a one-year prison sentence and a fine of EGP 900,000 on charges of misleading the public and harming citizens' health.

The ruling was announced by the Consumer Protection Agency (CPA) in a statement on Saturday, and the agency had referred the responsible legal representative of the company to the Public Prosecution more than once on charges of misleading advertising and harming consumers' health.

Head of CPA Ahmed Samir Farag called on artists and public figures not to participate in such misleading advertisements, whose producers exploit their fame and the public’s trust to mislead public opinion, and to promote wrong consumer concepts and behaviors by playing on the emotional side of the audience.

In the statement, Farag affirmed that the agency is determined to continue its efforts to ensure that consumers obtain all their rights, confirming to take legal measures against all violators.

"The company producing the Aplex product has been subjected to judicial rulings and raids by the regulatory authorities several times over the past years but, it continues to work and advertise itself," he added.

In 2018, the Cairo Economic Court ruled to fine the legal representative of the "Pharma Clinic" company of EGP 280,000 for misleading advertising of a Aplex, claiming its ability to help lose excess weight.

In 2017, the Ministry of Health and Population, represented by the Inspection Department, announced the seizure of 110,700 packages of Aplex in an unlicensed store for the misleading advertisements, which featured actor Ahmed Maher.

During the past year, the Supply Investigations in Giza raided the headquarters of another pharmaceutical company, which produces the popular slimming product, and arrested the director of the company.

The company claims that the product has a therapeutic characteristic such as slimming and treating joints, and is registered with the Ministry of Health and the National Nutrition Institute.