A Chinese mask manufacturer has been charged by the United States (US) Justice Department for exporting around 5 lakh faulty masks to the country.
The department said in a statement that the masks supplied by China were defective and misbranded as N95 respirators.
“A Chinese manufacturer was charged today with producing and exporting to the United States in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic nearly half a million misbranded and defective masks that falsely purported to be N95 respirators,” the Justice Department said in a release on Friday (June 5) as cited by news agency ANI.
The company, identified as King Year Packaging and Printing, faces a fine of up to $500,000 or the total gain and/or loss, whichever is greater for each of the four counts, the release further stated.
It added that a new COVID-19 Hoarding and Price Grouping Task Force formed by the Justice Department identified and charged the Chinese company.
“King Year Packaging and Printing Co. Ltd. (King Year) is charged with a complaint with three counts of violating the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) for causing misbranded and substandard respirators that falsely purported to meet the N95 standard to be imported into the United States,” the release added.
Chinese companies have been on the radar of other countries as well for supplying substandard masks and faulty testing kits, PPE coveralls etc to fight the COVID-19 spread.
— Reuters