SINGAPORE - More than 2,900 illegal household appliances were listed for sale by local and overseas sellers on e-commerce platforms between January and November this year.
These appliances were either not registered with the Consumer Product Safety Office (CPSO) or did not bear a valid safety mark in accordance with regulatory requirements, said the CPSO in a statement on Friday (Dec 17).
CPSO, which is overseen by Enterprise Singapore, added that the sales were uncovered based on its market surveillance efforts and investigations into consumer complaints.
The top five types of unregistered appliances that were sold online were AC adapters, portable socket outlets, cooking appliances such as toasters, grills and hot plates, haircare appliances and liquid heating appliances such as kettles and hot water dispensers.
They were found on major e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Carousell, Ezbuy, Lazada, Qoo10 and Shopee.
CPSO has worked with the e-commerce platforms to have the unregistered household appliances delisted. The authority has also issued fines or warnings to sellers of these products.
Sellers based locally found guilty of selling unregistered controlled goods are liable upon conviction to a fine of up to $10,000, jail of up to two years, or both.
Consumers are encourage to check product listings to see if they meet safety requirements such as bearing the safety mark. These marks can be verified at this website.
Online shoppers are also encouraged to check on the seller's reliability by reviewing feedback and ratings from past customers and checking if products are compatible for local use.
A total of 33 types of household appliances are considered controlled goods, which are tested according to specified safety standards and affixed with the safety mark before they can be sold in Singapore.
Those not meeting safety requirements can pose fire, mechanical and electrical risks.
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