KPDN Sarawak director Matthew Barin
KUCHING (Jan 13): Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) Sarawak director Matthew Barin said his enforcement officers will not hesitate to punish profiteers and those not complying with guidelines in regards to the CNY 2023 ceiling prices of essential goods.
“We will not hesitate to take appropriate action against those flouting the law.
“Any trader who commits an offence will be prosecuted under the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011 and he or she may be penalised under the Act,” he said when contacted.
Any individual who sells controlled price items above the maximum price may be fined up to RM100,000 or jailed not exceeding three years or both or compounded up to RM50,000, Matthew said.
If the offender is a company, it or its representative may be fined up to RM500,000 or compounded up to RM250,000 on conviction, he added.
“Failing to put pink price tags on controlled price items is also an offence,” he added.
An individual can be fined up to RM10,000 or compounded up to RM5,000 while a company can be fined up to RM20,000 or compounded up to RM10,000 on conviction, he said.
According to a Bernama report yesterday, KPDN has eight items listed under the 2023 CNY maximum price scheme.
The eight types of food items gazetted under the Festive Season Maximum Price Scheme (SHMMP) in conjunction with 2023 CNY, which will last for 15 days effective Jan 15-29, are white pomfret (weighing 200 to 400 gm each); white shrimp (between 41 and 60 pieces per kg); garlic from China; imported potato (China); imported round cabbage (Indonesia and China excluding Beijing); live farm pigs; pork belly and lean and fatty pork.