A screen capture of the fake news site peddling a diabetes "cure".
DIABETES is a modern-day scourge that has been increasingly prevalent as a result of changing diets and lifestyles. In 2019, the Health Ministry reported that over 3.9 million Malaysians, or 18.3% of the adult population, suffered from the condition. This has led to a situation where unscrupulous individuals and organisations try to profit from the suffering of others by selling sufferers quack cures and medicines. Recently, it's been alleged that they've gone as far as to misuse the name of a former Health director-general to peddle their snake oil scam. Is this true?
Verdict:
TRUE
Former Health DG Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah has gone to Facebook to distance himself from an obvious scam that has misused his name.
"This morning I received a text asking for confirmation over a 'news report' regarding a diabetes treatment," read his post on Facebook.
"This is clearly another scam and fake news using my name and pictures to deceive and scam readers," he said, adding a warning to others to be aware of the scam and not to fall for it.
He added a link in his post to the page which the scammers had made to look like a news report from a local Malay language news portal.
The page promotes an herbal remedy that not only promises to cure diabetes but also promises to help sufferers lose weight, gain muscle mass and even increase male potency.
The scammers haven't produced any studies to support their claims and the page solely rests on an “interview” with Dr Noor Hisham. An interview in which Dr Noor Hisham obviously said it never happened.
Suffice it to say, The Star would like to warn its readers not to fall for any such dubious claims and promises.
If you are suffering from a condition as serious as diabetes, do not attempt to self-treat.
Seek proper medical advice from a qualified doctor and make sure to stick to your treatment plan.
Reference:
