A shop on Ngoc Khanh Street fined for overcharing face masks

A box of 50 masks is usually sold for VND30,000 (USD1.30) to VND50,000. But as demand rises, a box of masks now costs VND250,000 to VND280,000. Some high-quality masks are sold at hundreds of thousands of VND each.

On January 31, the Economic Police Department in Hanoi co-operated with the Market Management Team 1 and found that many mask shops were overcharging. Two included shops at 120 and 118 Ngoc Khanh, Ba Dinh District.

Mai Huu Chung, the owner of the 120 Ngoc Khanh shop, said they sold 30 mask boxes on January 31 at the prices of VND130,000 (USD5.60) to VND220,000 each. The police also seized 680 masks of unknown origin.

Nguyen Thi Thu, the owner of 118 Ngoc Khanh shop said they sold 134 boxes at the price of VND300,000 (USD13) to VND350,000 each. They also failed to provide required invoices and documents for 266 masks.

Colonel Phung Anh Le, head of the Economic Police Department, said people started getting more worried as coronavirus spread. Several shop owners had taken advantage of the situation to hoard masks and overcharge. They have inspected the shops on Ngoc Khanh Street following directives from the Hanoi Department of Public Security.

The owners of the shops were fined VND20m (USD866) and VND30m for the violation. According to the regulations, they must also submit their illegal profits to the state budget. Dtinews

Hanoi mayor urges stock of 20 million medical masks for possible nCoV outbreak

The city's leader requires the health sector to be well-prepared for the worse situation.

nCoV: Vietnam capable of producing sufficient medical masks

Prices of masks have been driven up by hoarding and citizens’ spookiness.