While the health sector has warned looters who think they can cash in on stolen medical supplies that it is illegal as there are very strict provisions relating to the sale of these medicines, an attorney has warned that those who attempt to sell or keep them can face long-term prison time.
According to the Pretoria News, Jan-Harm Swanepoel, from legal firm Adams & Adams, has warned that section 15(6a) of the Medicines and Related Substance Act contains strict provisions relating to the sale of certain medicines and limitations as to the qualified individuals and entities who may do so.
If an unqualified person were found to be administering COVID-19 vaccines in an unregulated environment, he said, they would face the full might of the law and possibly up to 10 years behind bars.
“None of the looters or other individuals is permitted to sell the medicines or vaccines taken from sites during the unrest. This may seem obvious since these items were stolen, but the advantages of the strict provisions in the Medicines Act lie in identifying the goods as illegal items.”
He said the sale of medicines was prohibited unless they complied with the prescribed requirements and that it was not as simple to clamp down on looters with unlawful medicine in their possession as it was to arrest people with a new TV or fridge. “The nature of scheduled medicines and vaccines and the statutory offences created by the Act in this regard facilitate a more streamlined process in not only ensuring lawful seizures but also quicker and successful prosecutions.”
Full Pretoria News article – Medicine looters face jail time of up to 10 years
See more in MedicalBrief archives:
Unrest abates but effects on health care will be far reaching
Violence and looting cripple healthcare across Gauteng and KZN
Pharmacists arrested on stolen meds and illegal clinic charges in Eastern Cape