Shoppers Mob Cheap Soft Drinks At Perak Econsave

Shoppers mob cheap soft drinks at Perak Econsave

Chinese New Year is just around the corner – which means Malaysians must be busy stocking up on goods for the festival such as soft drinks, beers and cookies as they do each year.

While many of us are aware of the need to shop safely during the pandemic by adhering to Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs), some individuals seem to have forgotten the need to stay safe at this time. A crowd of eager shoppers was seen panic buying soft drinks at an Econsave outlet in Perak.

Soft drinks on sale at Perak Econsave

Video credit: 我们是马来西亚人 We are Malaysians

On 8th January 2022, two videos capturing a group of shoppers panic buying cheap soft drinks at an Econsave supermarket in Sitiawan, Perak, was posted on the Facebook page We are Malaysians.

In it, shoppers can be seen jostling against one another as they were trying to get their hands on cartons of soft drinks such as 100plus and Coca-Cola that were apparently priced at RM20.88 per carton.

Video credit: 我们是马来西亚人 We are Malaysians

Both videos showed shoppers trying to get as many cartons as possible into their trolleys, while not adhering to physical distancing.

The videos have since gone viral, garnering over 200 shares, with Malaysians questioning the shoppers’ rationale over panic buying to the point of flouting Covid-19 SOPs – especially when the country is still battling the pandemic and staying alert of the rise of Omicron variant cases in our communities.

Supermarket fined RM1,000 for violating SOPs

Perak Econsave police statement
Page one of Image credit: Polis Daerah Manjung

The viral videos have also caught the attention of the Manjung District Police Office, which issued an RM1,000 fine for the supermarket in question for failing to ensure physical distancing was practiced among its shoppers.

Manjung District Police Chief ACP Nor Omar Bin Sappi confirmed in a statement that the incident took place on Friday, 7th January 2022 at around 9AM at the canned food section of Econsave Sitiawan.

Perak Econsave police statement
Image credit: Polis Daerah Manjung

He also advised people to adhere to SOPs at all times for public safety. Those who have information about SOP violations are called upon to contact the district office or the nearby police station for further action.

Panic buying cheap soft drinks at Perak supermarket

Our frontliners have been working hard to fight against the pandemic ever since Covid-19 hit our shores. So it’s sad to see individuals still flouting SOPs for needless reasons, such as buying items that are on sale.

As a nation, we are still far from being done with the pandemic. As such, it’s important that all of us continue to practise SOPs to curb the spread of Covid-19.