KUALA LUMPUR - Disguised as an office building in Jalan Sentul, here, a facility is believed to have been providing illegal dental and cosmetic treatments since late 2022.
The illegal activity was finally exposed on Tuesday.
Following public complaints, a raid was carried out at around 1.10pm led by enforcement officers from the Oral Health Division and Private Medical Practice Control Section (CKAPS) of the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya health department.
The premises had closed-circuit television (CCTV).
There were also designated rooms, believed to be for customers receiving dental treatments, as well as separate rooms for beauty-related medical services such as skin whitening and botox injections.
The operation carried out in collaboration with the Sentul District Police Headquarters, led to the arrest of three locals including a woman aged between 22 and 31.
Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya health department enforcement officer Dr Azfar Abdullah revealed that initial investigations found that the beauty centre was not registered with the Health Ministry.
"The suspects are believed to have promoted their services on social media platforms TikTok and Instagram.
"The services offered include dental veneers, a procedure that should only be carried out by a registered dental practitioner with the Malaysian Dental Council.
"The centre also offered aesthetic medical treatments such as fillers, pico lasers, whitening drips and other aesthetic treatments that could only be performed by registered medical practitioners with the Malaysian Medical Council and certified with the Letter of Credentialing and Privileging of Aesthetic Medical Practice (LCP)," he said.
Azfar said the treatment costs ranged from RM200 to RM20,000, depending on the type of package chosen by the customers.
He added that the three arrested were being investigated under Section 4(1) of the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998 for allegedly operating a dental clinic and a medical clinic without valid registration certificates.
"The case is also being investigated under Section 62(1) of the Dental Act 2018 for suspected unauthorised dental practice by individuals not registered with the Malaysian Dental Council," he said.
He said the ministry urged the public to seek treatment only from certified medical and dental practitioners with proper qualifications.
This, he said was to ensure the safety and quality of treatment services and to prevent any potential complications.