A COMPANY has been found selling three-ply face masks above the ceiling price, said the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry.
Enforcers with the ministry yesterday raided the premises of the company in Kota Damansara and seized 223,000 units of face masks.
Ministry enforcement director Datuk Iskandar Halim Sulaiman said the estimated value of the seized items were RM446,000.
“From the raid, we discovered that the culprits were selling the face masks at RM3.50 per unit. This is against the set price for the item in the market which is RM2 per unit.
“Their method of selling was primarily done online, where customers can place their orders via WhatsApp and the item will be delivered to them either via postage or cash-on-delivery (COD) method,” he said in a statement.
Enforcers moved in following a tip-off from members of the public, who complained about face masks being sold discreetly online at higher prices at the “Face Mask Wholesale (Malaysia Only)” and “Pseud John Elton” Facebook pages.
The suspects, according to Iskandar, had been caught and would be charged under Section 11 of the Price Control and Anti Profiteering Act 2011. The statement did not specify how many suspects were detained.
Under this section, an individual could be fined up to RM100,000 or jailed up to three years or both; or subsequently be fined up to RM250,000 or five years’ jail or both for the second or subsequent offence.
A corporation or company can be fined up to RM500,000 and up to RM1 mil for the second or subsequent offence, if the offender is not an individual. – March 26, 2020
