Celebrities to hear charges over 'Magic Skin' reviews

Celebrities to hear charges over 'Magic Skin' reviews

Actress Sririta Jensen and three other celebrities meet deputy national police chief Wirachai Songmetta on June 22 last year to give their accounts over their roles in giving reviews of cosmetic and food supplement products of firms linked to Magic Skin Co. (File photo)
Actress Sririta Jensen and three other celebrities meet deputy national police chief Wirachai Songmetta on June 22 last year to give their accounts over their roles in giving reviews of cosmetic and food supplement products of firms linked to Magic Skin Co. (File photo)

Police will next week summon celebrities to acknowledge charges over their endorsement of substandard cosmetic and weight-loss products linked to Magic Skin Co, 120 million tonnes of which will be burned on Wednesday.

The products seized from 186 suspects at a market near Don Mueang airport -- worth 300 million baht -- will be destroyed at the Bang Pa-in industrial estate in Ayutthaya at 10am on Wednesday, deputy national police chief Wirachai Songmetta said on Tuesday.

He did not elaborate what the charges would be police said earlier the stars might be formally charged with using misleading words in promoting the products and falsely presenting the properties of food supplements, along with unauthorised advertising of the products.

Police investigators and officials from the Anti-Money Laundering Office had confiscated assets worth over 19 million baht from executives of firms linked to Magic Skin Co. The seized assets would be liquidated to compensate the victims, added the deputy national police chief, in his capacity as head of the investigation team handling the Magic Skin case.

Charges against the celebrities involved in Magic Skin product review advertisements became clear as the Food and Drugs Administration has already supplied information to police, he said.

The investigators would next week summon those celebrities to hear charges that would involve jail terms, said Pol Gen Wirachai.

He declined to give details on the number of the celebrities, but said they were popular.

In May last year, police and officials searched Talat Mai Don Muang market in Bangkok for unlicensed cosmetics and food supplement products.

A large amount of food supplements and cosmetics suspected to be substandard or not registered with the FDA were seized for inspection.

The operation came after authorities received complaints that around 200 stores at the market were openly selling illegal products, including the brands Magic Skin and Lyn.

Magic Skin was found to be producing cosmetics and food supplements which were both substandard and unlicensed. Lyn has weight-loss drugs that have been linked to at least three deaths and are banned in Thailand.

In May, eight celebrities reported to police to explain their roles as ambassadors for Magic Skin comestics and weight loss products. 

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