Illicit pill maker sentenced to more than 10 years
The diet pills seized at Li's workshop in Anhui Province contain banned drug sibutramine.
A woman who produced and sold diet pills containing sibutramine, a central nervous system inhibitor which is banned in China, was sentenced to 10 years and three months in jail for producing and selling toxic and harmful food, the Shanghai Railway Transport Procuratorate said.
Sibutramine is a serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor which has been used to treat obesity. It was withdrawn from use in China in 2010 due to risk of serious side effects. It can cause high blood pressure, cardiovascular events, anorexia, insomnia and liver disease.
According to prosecutors, the woman, surnamed Li, started to sell such diet pills via her Taobao store and WeChat account in February 2017. Her records show that sales between March and August 2018 reached more than 1.1 million yuan (US$157,163).
Prosecutors said that doses of sibutramine are very strictly controlled by doctors. Generally, a person can take only 10 milligrams of sibutramine a day, and the limit is 15 milligrams. However, Li's diet pills contained up to 50 milligrams of the substance.
After noticing sales of the illicit pills on Taobao, prosecutors traced their origins back to Li, who was captured in Anhui Province with medical ingredients enough to produce about 4 million pills. Prosecutors also handed over information about possible buyers to police in different provinces.
Li was fined 1.5 million yuan as part of her sentence.
The diet pills seized at Li's workshop in Anhui Province contain banned drug sibutramine.
A machine Li uses to make diet pills at his workshop in Anhui Province
