Face Masks Are Going Missing During Transit

---

PETALING JAYA: The pilfering of face masks during interstate shipment via postal and courier services during the Covid-19 pandemic has become so rampant that some companies are suspending the delivery of such items nationwide.

An industry source said the face masks went missing during shipment because the items were in short supply lately because of the outbreak.“With increasing reports of face masks being pilfered or going missing during shipment to courier companies, some have placed it as a high-risk item while others declined to take delivery,” said the source.

The courier companies, the source added, did not lodge any police report on the missing items as the quantity involved was not significant.

“So some of them decided that the best thing to do was to turn away customers who wanted to courier face masks,” he said.

According to him, the items went missing when they were taken to the centralised warehouses before these packages were sorted out and assigned to lorries to be delivered to the respective states for distribution.

A Petaling Jaya face mask seller, who only wanted to be identified as Teh, said some of the packages sent to his customers were ripped open “with a few pieces of the face masks nicked from the consignment”.

“Whoever stole the items did not take away the entire package; they opened it and removed a few pieces and resealed the package,” said Teh.

Teh said even if some of these courier companies accepted the business, they would be asked to sign an indemnity and waiver form should the products go missing.

The recent lockdown in Wuhan, the epicentre of Covid-19 in China, has forced Chinese face mask manufacturers to stop shipping the item abroad.

The Covid-19 scare has also sparked a huge demand for the item locally, creating a shortage.

The price of face masks skyrocketed beyond RM2 a piece, forcing the government to introduce a RM1.50 ceiling price.

Many consumers shopped for face masks online when the movement control order was implemented, with the online marketers using postal and courier services to deliver to their customers nationwide. - Star

---