Online Advertisements Lead To Counterfeit Electrical Products Seized By Ministry During Raids

Ministry and Panasonic Malaysia warn of safety risks in counterfeit electrical products

24 Aug, Kuala Lumpur – On 13 August 2020, the Enforcement Division, Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs with the support of Panasonic conducted raids against 2 outlets in GM Plaza Kuala Lumpur and uncovered counterfeit electrical products on sale.

Investigations were initially conducted against 10 sellers advertising Panasonic hair clippers via online e-commerce platforms such as Shopee and Lazada. The investigations led to the sellers’ physical location and their suppliers. The Enforcement Division deployed 8 officers in the raid.

With the support and cooperation of Lazada’s brand protection team, further action will be taken against the online sellers to help ensure they will no longer sell counterfeit Panasonic products on Lazada.

According to the Director General of the Enforcement Division, Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, Dato' Iskandar Halim Bin Hj. Sulaiman, "With the cooperation of representatives of Panasonic, we have, on 13 August, successfully conducted a raid action to cripple the distribution of counterfeit Panasonic electrical products. Two outlets in GM Plaza Kuala Lumpur, including a storage place were raided and 94 suspected counterfeit Panasonic products were seized, namely hair clippers, blenders and irons. These products are sold online at a low price or can be sold at retail outlets.”

Concerned that most of these counterfeit products appear to be of low quality and are not certified by SIRIM, Dato’ Iskandar added, “Counterfeit electronic products pose a potential fire and safety hazard, so we strongly condemn the sale of these products by unscrupulous traders. Consumers need to be aware of what they are buying and be cautious especially when they are buying online where the only pictures you see in the advertisement may not be the product you will actually receive.”

“We are warning traders to stop selling such dangerous products to unsuspecting consumers. More actions will be taken, and offenders will face criminal prosecution and possible fines and jail sentence upon conviction. Foreigners found conducting these illegal activities will be reported to the immigration department for further action. We will ensure that those who continue to be involved in counterfeiting activities will be charged under the Anti-Money Laundering Act too”, he added.

Panasonic Malaysia’s Marketing Director, Mr Fumiaki Tanaka thanked Dato’ Iskandar and the Enforcement Division for the successful investigations and action. “We are aware that it is not easy to investigate online sellers and identify their physical location and storage places. We appreciate the strong efforts of the Ministry and share the concern of Dato’ Iskandar on the risks of purchasing counterfeit electrical products. In this case, all fake products are non-existent models/designs of Panasonic. They have abused the Panasonic brand and are betraying consumers. Panasonic has a zero-tolerance policy against fake products and will do our utmost best to work with the Government to protect customers from potentially dangerous counterfeit products. Further, electrical appliances in Malaysia are tightly regulated and must have a Certificate of Approval before they are manufactured, imported, exhibited, sold or advertised. Counterfeit electrical products are unsafe and pose a fire hazard. We encourage consumers to be vigilant and to purchase their Panasonic products from reputable electrical shops,) our official website or our brand e-commerce stores, and must ensure the products are certified by SIRIM.

“Recently, due to COVID-19, more consumers are shopping online. With this trend, we are also seeing more online sale of counterfeit goods, as it is so much easier to sell fakes online since consumers are not able to inspect the product before purchasing. Based on our technical examination at our headquarter in Japan, the fake products sold are harmful and will lead to quality concerns (accidents and injuries) for all consumers. In our efforts to eradicate counterfeit goods, Panasonic implements extensive measures globally to protect our customers and society. These measures are targeted at various stages of counterfeit goods production and distribution, including manufacturers, major trade shows, importers/exporters, wholesalers, and distributors”, added Mr. Fumiaki Tanaka.

“Finally, we would also like to thank the brand protection team of Lazada for supporting us in these actions to help ensure only genuine Panasonic products are sold on their platform”, said Mr. Tanaka. Lazada’s LazMall works directly with brands to list authentic products on the eCommerce platform

In order to avoid purchasing counterfeit products, we urge that customers purchase Panasonic products directly from Panasonic official stores and our authorised partners, listed here: 
https://www.panasonic.com/my/consumer/where-to-buy.html

For further information, please contact:
Panasonic Malaysia Sdn Bhd
Name: Chew Keng Heng / Mazlee Mokhtar
Tel: +603 78097888
Email: kengheng.chew@my.panasonic.com / mazlee.mokhtar@my.panasonic.com