Hsieh Ting-hong, deputy director general of the bureau, told reporters that a series of advertised food products that claim to assist in losing weight, gaining height, increasing bust size, or that serve as aphrodisiacs have caught the attention of his bureau.

Hsieh said that his bureau recently took the initiative to examine two of the food prescriptions promoted by "Teacher Hsieh" Group, finding that the ingredients were mostly Chinese herbs, without Western medicines. But the prescriptions were also proved to be ineffective in helping one lose weight or gain height as advertised, according to Hsieh.

The bureaus of health and sanitation of local county and city governments have issued a total of 23 fines to "Teacher Hsieh," with the total fines amounting to NT$2.67 million, Hsieh said.

He continued that in order to curb exaggerative ads for illegal pharmaceutical or food products, the Cabinet-level Department of Health has instructed local sanitation and health units to impose repeated fines until the ads are dropped.

Now that some consumers have reported unfavorable by-effects after having the "Teacher Hsieh" food prescriptions, Hsieh stressed, the Bureau of Food Sanitation will take the initiative to conduct an across-the-board examination of the products to see if they contain Western medicines.

If there are Western medicines found in the food prescriptions, then heavy fines will be imposed on the "Teacher Hsieh" Group on charges of violating the Pharmaceutical Law, according to Hsieh.

And if some consumers were hurt by the fake prescriptions, Hsieh said, the Bureau of Food Sanitation will hand relevant responsible persons over to prosecution units for investigation.

Meanwhile, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) recently busted the "Teacher Hsieh" Group as a ring to embezzle money from consumers. The group is headed by Hsieh Fu-sung, nicknamed "Teacher Hsieh."

But both Hsieh and another key suspect, Yu Yu-long, were released on bail of NT$100,000 each after being interrogated.

The group has allegedly employed as many as 36 male and female entertainers to speak for the effects of their food prescriptions, attracting over 20,000 consumers to patronize the products.

One consumer reported to the police that after eating the weight-loss products offered by the "Teacher Hsieh" group, he was forced to "visit" the toilet six times within 30 minutes, but still failed to lose any weight.

Another young man who wished to increase his height of 172 centimeters, also told the police that after eating a food prescription offered by the group for two months at a cost of NT$70,000, he remained exactly 172 centimeters tall.