Vida Beauty Sdn Bhd founder Datuk Seri Dr Hasmiza Othman or ‘Datuk Seri Vida’, was fined RM4,800 in default five months imprisonment by the Magistrate’s Court here today for advertising a product without the approval of the Medicine Advertisement Board.

The cosmetics millionairess, 46, who recently became a YouTube hit with her “I Am Me” song, paid the fine.

She admitted committing the offence at Sri Pentas, Persiaran Bandar Utama here, during a live programme between 1 pm and 1.30 pm on July 18, 2016.

The charge under Section 4B of the Medicines (Advertisement and Sale) Act 1956, punishable under Section 5(1)(b) of the same Act, carries a maximum jail sentence of two years or a fine or both, on conviction.

Earlier in mitigation, Hasmiza who was unrepresented, said she was only repeating the testimony of her clients on the efficacy of the product.

However, prosecuting officer Amran Abu Bakar from the Health Ministry’s Pharmacy Enforcement division urged magistrate Mohd Azali Ibrahim to impose an appropriate sentence considering that “the accused has a previous conviction and is also well known”.

-- BERNAMA