'Fake infant formula may not just be confined to Johor'

THE sale of fake infant formula may not be confined to five stores as reported earlier.
A Chinese medical hall owner, who had fingers pointed at him after suspected fake infant milk powder was confiscated from four of his five chain stores in south Johor last week, disclosed that he obtained his supply from distributors in northern Peninsular through a salesgirl he has known for years.
However, the salesgirl insisted the infant formulas she sourced for her clients were genuine products, adding that bigger Chinese medical halls in other parts of Malaysia count among her clientele, Sin Chew Daily reported today.
The Chinese medical hall owner, who identified himself only as Mr Ye, said the salesgirl told him infant milk powder she obtained from the north, which was cheaper by RM3-RM4 a box, was definitely genuine and was cheaper only because the distributors wanted to push sales to meet their targets.
Following the health scare, Ye personally checked with the three distributors concerned in Penang and Sungai Petani on Monday and found they were indeed selling the genuine branded infant formulas.
Ye, who has been in the business for more than three decades, was apologetic over the incident when he was contacted by Sin Chew on Tuesday.
He told the daily that those who had bought what they believed could be fake infant formulas from his stores in Johor Baru and Skudai could return them for full refund.
He said he had lodged a police report over the incident, and provided police with details of the salesgirl for them to carry out investigations.
Meanwhile, a salesgirl known only as Jessie claimed innocence, telling Sin Chew she acted as the go-between and was in the dark how the fake infant formulas came about.