KUALA LUMPUR: A video featuring officers from the Perak Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry (KPDN) has received widespread acclaim from netizens for their diligent enforcement of regulations after they uncovered a seller hiding cooking oil packets in a bin, despite the seller's claims that the items were out of stock.
In a TikTok clip shared by the KPDN Perak account, the footage begins with an undercover officer posing as a customer visiting a local minimarket. She inquires about the availability of cooking oil, only to be told by a store worker that they have none, with another employee asserting that supplies are low at the end of the year.
Following this, several officers entered the minimarket to conduct a formal inspection for any controlled items. The officer asked the store manager if they sold any regulated products, to which the manager confirmed they had sugar and flour, presenting a valid licence for these items.
When the manager showed the officer cooking oil bottles, he insisted that the packets were out of stock.
The officers then proceeded to the minimarket's storeroom, continuing to question the manager about the cooking oil packets. Despite his repeated denials, the officers opened the lid of a rubbish bin to discover multiple packets of cooking oil concealed inside.
Confronted by the officers, the manager claimed the packets were reserved for staff use. However, the officers informed him that this practice was not allowed, as controlled items must be available for consumers, and the staff had not purchased the packets beforehand.
Ultimately, the discovery of 13 hidden cooking oil packets violated legal regulations. The officers indicated they would charge the manager for unlawfully concealing controlled items.
The video has since garnered 1.7 million views and 59,800 likes, with netizens praising the officers and criticising the store manager for his actions.
User @raihanums said that this was a common occurrence, as she had struggled to purchase cooking oil packets for a long time, with store owners consistently claiming they were out of stock.
@rustonb shared a similar experience, adding that when he asked a store if they had cooking oil packets, they denied having any, only for their workers to later emerge holding multiple packets.