Director: Hefty fines await fish mongers found cheating

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INSPECTING: MDTCC enforcement officers check the pan at a stall to ensure there is no water during a surprise check.

Wan Ahmad Uzir Wan Sulaiman

SIBU: Unscrupulous fish mongers placing water on the pans of their weighing scales to add to the weight of the food items can be slapped with a hefty fine.

Ministry of Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism (MDTCC) state director Wan Ahmad Uzir Wan Sulaiman said yesterday they would invoke Trade Description Act 1972 against the offenders.

“To help us weed out such unethical practices, consumers have the right to tell the trader upfront to pour away the water before putting on fish or vegetables on the pan.

“Traders caught for the offence will have their weighing instrument impounded besides facing a heavy punishment.

“They can be fined up to RM100,000 or sentenced to three years’ jail or both,” he told The Borneo Post when contacted.

The ministry acted against 16 traders in a state-wide operation on Sunday.

Wan Uzir said the cases involved traders using expired weighing scales.

He believed there could be more as some branches were still compiling their reports.

“We have issued 33 warnings during the operation,” he said.

Meanwhile, a trader in Sibu Central Market had his weighing scale seized by MDTCC enforcement officers for not getting the instrument recalibrated on Sunday.

The ministry’s Sibu branch chief, Balraj Singh, said action had been taken against the trader under Section 14 (6) of the Weights and Measures Act 1972.

On conviction, the offender can be slapped with a fine not exceeding RM4,000 or sentenced to three years’ jail or both.

Balraj said the operation would be extended to cover other businesses such as goldsmiths, drugstores selling traditional Chinese medicine and others.