KPDNHEP staff inspecting the sale of face masks.
LIMBANG: Offences under the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011 topped the list of offences recorded by the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (KPDNHEP) Limbang from Jan 1 to Sept 9 this year.
Its chief Pulnama Tarah said out of the total 71 cases reported this year, 18 were offences under this Act.
“For cases under the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011 we recorded a total of 18 cases with a seizure value of RM2,056.95 and a total compound of RM4,500,” he told reporters during a routine inspection by the ministry here yesterday.
He said the offences were discovered during the 4,551 inspections carried out on business premises in urban and rural areas.
On the 71 cases reported, he said the value of goods confiscated was about RM1.5 million while compound fees totalled RM13,050.
Pulnama also said five complaints regarding face mask and hand sanitiser were among the total 32 complaints received by the ministry to date since the implementation of the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) from June 10.
He advised all traders to abide strictly by the various trading regulations, and warned that there is no compromise on offenders.
“Traders who increase the price of all types of face mask if convicted can be fined RM100,000 or imprisoned for not more than three years or both.
“Meanwhile, for companies or corporations, they can be fined up to RM500,000 or compounded up to RM250,000,” he said.
He pointed out that the daily inspections are carried out to ensure that there are sufficient essential goods in the market and that they are sold at reasonable prices during the implementation period of the RMCO.