While Hong Kong’s days of panic-buying and loo roll-related crimes appear to have passed, it seems like some unscrupulous people are still capitalizing on the demand for face masks and sanitizer.
The Consumer Council said in a press conference today that it had received over 760 complaints in January, February, and March over the sale of surgical face masks, alcohol-based hand sanitizers, and other coronavirus-era hot commodities.
One victim told the council that they paid HKD200,000 for a bulk order of masks that never arrived. Many complained that they placed orders months ago but have been met with excuses and delays from the sellers.
Gilly Wong, the council’s chief executive, warned consumers against purchasing gray market products and said it would be difficult to resolve many of the complaints as the buyers had made direct transfers to sellers’ bank accounts.
One woman, surnamed Lee, said she had ordered boxes of face masks from Japan for HKD300 each on an e-commerce website and paid using a QR code on the site. After following up with the seller a week after sending the money, Lee was told to expect her delivery on February 20 at the latest. However, the seller stopped responding to messages after that and deleted all of their social media accounts by the end of the month.
To help educate consumers, the council tested 24 different alcohol-based sanitizers and found that 75 percent had a lower alcohol content than advertised, and six samples contained trace amounts of methanol, a toxic organic solvent.
A representative for the council said that the concentration of methanol was not high enough to cause acute poisoning, but the alcohol could enter the body through a wound and poison the user. The council has passed its test results to the Customs and Excise Department for further investigation.
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