The Ministry of Commerce will continue to check the quality of alcohol and monitor the price of masks in the markets and pharmacies.

The enforcement is to prevent price gouging by opportunistic vendors trying to take advantage of the recent Covid-19 panic.

Department of Consumer Protection, Competition and Fraud Prevention director-general Phan Oun told The Post on November 12 that masks, alcohol and hand sanitisers were in high demand in Cambodia when the pandemic first began in January. That provided an opportunity for opportunists to sell fake and unqualified products.

Oun said officials had retrieved and destroyed 94 tonnes of fake alcohol between March and November.

“We found 94 tonnes of fake alcohol containing methanol and have sent some owners of these fake products to court,” he said

Oun said people now fear an outbreak of Covid-19 in the country and might stockpiled tools to protect themselves.

To prevent price gouging, he said the department had advised its officials in Phnom Penh and provinces to check the quality and price of these products regularly, thought no abnormalities had been reported as of November 11.

“We made our officials check alcohol and observe mask prices to prevent deception,” he said.

Officials also warned vendors against selling counterfeit or substandard products that could endanger health and life and advised consumers not to buy alcohol products without a clear label.