A Singapore-based company, Riway Singapore, has been ordered to stop making false and misleading claims.

According to The Straits Times, this was after Riway sellers have been touting its Purtier Placenta health supplement product as being able to treat or cure cancer.

Health Sciences Authority warning

Riway Singapore has been warned by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) that its sellers must be educated not to make false claims.

Sellers who falsely advertise health products are liable to prosecution and, if convicted, may be jailed for up to two years and/ or fined up to S$5,000.

A recent presentation made by Riway sellers at its Ang Mo Kio headquarters for Purtier Placenta was flagged to the HSA.

What happened

The health supplement contains deer placenta as its main ingredient, Riway's marketing materials said.

The health supplement has been touted as a form of live cell therapy by consuming pills.

It also claimed stem cells are used to treat diseases.

HSA warnings

HSA said in response that there is no robust scientific evidence to support these claims of live cell therapy.

There is no scientific proof that oral stem cell therapy can prevent or treat diseases and medical conditions, as live stem cells would be destroyed by digestive enzymes in the stomach and gut when consumed orally.

HSA also told Riway's sellers to stop referencing a decade-old Oct. 29, 2008 laboratory report from the authority, calling the use of the report "misleading".

Riway has been using the report to make claims that the health supplement is safe for consumption.

Using the report as marketing material to make false claims is punishable by a fine and/ or jail sentence.

The report, HSA said, is not evidence of the product's safety as it only contains the results of a single test on a sample of a product submitted by the company.

It was to test for the presence of heavy metals.

Riway's sellers have been directed by HSA to remove the laboratory report from all marketing materials.

Sellers have even claimed that various illnesses, such as cancer, eczema and stroke, get better after consuming the pills.

Operated by Singaporean

Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority records show Riway is led by Singaporean Lim Boon Hong.

It has been operating since 2008 with branches in Malaysia and Thailand.