IPOH: The Perak Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry has seized 529 units of counterfeit mobile phones worth about RM150,800 in a raid at a business premises here.
Its state director, Datuk Kamalludin Ismail, said the raid was conducted on Thursday (Feb 5) at 11.50am, following a complaint and information provided by the trademark owner, who alleged that the premises were selling branded mobile phones suspected to be counterfeit.
“Inspection at the premises revealed a total of 529 mobile phones suspected of bearing registered trademarks without authorisation,” he said in a statement on Friday (Feb 6).
Kamalludin added that representatives from the trademark company conducted a preliminary verification of the items and found that the premises are suspected of committing an offence under the Trademarks Act 2019.
The premises is believed to have had possession, custody or control of goods bearing a registered trademark without authorisation for the purpose of trade or manufacture, in violation of Section 100, which falls under Section 102(1)(c) of the Act.
“All items and related documents have been seized for further investigation,” he said.
“If convicted, corporate entities can be fined up to RM15,000 for each item bearing the unauthorised trademark for the first offence and up to RM30,000 per item for subsequent offences.
“For individuals, they can be fined up to RM10,000 per item, or face a maximum of three years in jail, or both, for the first offence; and a fine of up to RM20,000 per item, or up to five years in jail, or both, for subsequent offences,” he added.
Kamalludin said the ministry takes the protection of both consumers and trademark owners seriously.
“Continuous monitoring and intelligence gathering on premises selling branded goods is part of our efforts to combat the sale of counterfeit items and strengthen investor confidence, particularly in Perak,” he said.
“We hope the public can help by providing information on fraudulent activities via WhatsApp at 019-848 8000, the e-aduan@kpdn.gov.my portal, the 1-800-886-800 hotline, or the KPDN Ez ADI smartphone application,” he added.
