Kuala lumpur: Forgetting to renew weighing instrument certification was among the excuses given by 18 traders who were collectively issued compounds totaling RM5,600 during Ops Embun 2.0 at the Kuala Lumpur Wholesale Market in the early hours of this morning.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) conducted a surprise inspection of 382 premises. The inspection revealed that traders were still using unverified weighing instruments, despite the simple and affordable verification process available to them.

Kuala Lumpur KPDN director Mohd Sabri Seman reported that out of the total cases, 16 were recorded under the Weights and Measures Act 1972 for failure to verify weighing instruments. Two additional cases were taken under the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011 for not displaying clear price tags and menu lists at food stalls.

Mohd Sabri mentioned that KPDN, in collaboration with Metrology Corporation Malaysia Sdn Bhd, had previously provided on-site centralized verification services for weighing instruments at the wholesale market on April 1 and 22. He stressed that there is no longer any excuse for traders to use expired, faulty, or inaccurate weighing instruments for commercial purposes, as manipulating weights is unfair to consumers.

The first Ops Embun, carried out on March 17, recorded 26 cases of offenses involving traders following inspections of 500 premises at the Kuala Lumpur Wholesale Market and Pudu Market. Mohd Sabri noted that although the number of cases had declined compared to the first phase of the operation, KPDN remains firm on its zero-tolerance stance against traders who fail to comply with regulations.

The operation, which began at 1 am, was carried out by 50 personnel from both KPDN and the Immigration Department.