KUALA LUMPUR: A cardiologist expressed alarm after discovering that his name and photograph were used without his consent in a fake online article to promote herbal medicine.
Prof Dr Chin Sze Piaw said the article written in Bahasa Malaysia falsely portrayed him as criticising proven heart medications.
He said the article made him look like he opposed life-saving heart medication, while also claiming that such medicines allegedly caused the death of American television and movie actor Matthew Perry.
"Without my knowledge and permission, they used my photograph and my name to make a fake interview," he told a press conference organised by MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong.
Dr Chin was recently nominated for a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) Life Sciences Researchers award and also received recognition from the International Society for Cell and Gene Therapy (ISCGT).
"They made me (look as if I said) that these medicines should not be taken any more. Instead, patients should take the products (promoted in the article), which I never knew existed," he said.
He said he has never endorsed any herbal product.
He found out about the article throught colleagues who informed him about the fake article on Wednesday. He said some patients had informed his colleagues about the article.
He lodge a police report on the same day, and then lodged a separate report with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) two days later.
"I believe the information has been disseminated quite widely, and I'm very afraid that patients who are unable to verify the information will stop taking their approved medications and take the herbal supplement."
Dr Chin said it was very dangerous for patients to discontinue their prescribed medication, including "life-saving blood pressure medicines" because any disruption to this may even be fatal in certain cases.
He urged patients to always check with guidelines set by the Health Ministry or the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) if they have concerns.
"People should not believe the article. I will not make these kinds of claims."
A lawyer who is representing Dr Chin, Datuk Joy W. Appukuttan said the goal of the press conference was to warn the public against the false claims in the article.
"It is not primarily about protecting Prof Dr Chin, but more about protecting the people out there."
He said impersonating a person for unlawful gain is an offence which falls under the Penal Code, while disseminating misleading information is addressed under the Multimedia and Communications Act 1998.
Meanwhile, Chong urged for a thorough investigations by police and the MCMC.