The head of National Capital Regional Police Office (NCRPO) on Monday warned the public against defective electrical products following last week’s seizure of P10 million worth of substandard electrical items from China.
On Friday, members of the NCRPO’s Regional Police Investigation Operating Unit raided three warehouses in the Binondo area and found boxes of defective sockets, emergency lights, extension wires, lamps and flashlights.
According to the police, the warehouses are owned by 13 people, including Jonathan Hou, a Chinese national.
The police were able to get a search warrant from Judge Zaldy Docena of the Malabon Regional Trial Court Branch 170 after a concerned citizen sought their help.
“The police conducted a test buy and the purchased products were submitted to the [Department of Trade and Industry] which certified that the products were expired and recycled,” NCRPO chief Director Leonardo Espina said.
Espina on Monday presented to the media the four truckloads of electronic products confiscated from the warehouses.
“Let the safety and security of students be our priority as the school year starts and let’s also help in the campaign of the Bureau of Fire on fire prevention by [encouraging] house or [apartment] owners not to use substandard electrical products which we know are fire hazards,” he said in a statement.
He added the seized substandard electrical products were supposed to be distributed to retailers nationwide.
Espina ordered his men to press charges in relation to Republic Act No. 7394 (Consumers Protection Act) against the owners of warehouses who were not around during the raid and remained at large as of Monday.
If found guilty, they may face imprisonment ranging from two months to a year or a fine of up to P10,000.
Espina, meanwhile, said that buyers who end up with defective electrical products should immediately inform the trade department or go to the nearest police station.