The Ministry of Commerce has defamed a branch of a catering company in Makkah, following the issuance of a court ruling convicting the facility of violating the Anti-Commercial Fraud Law and the Commercial Data System by possessing and offering spoiled and corrupted foodstuffs of unknown origin.
The Ministry has published the judicial ruling issued by the Criminal Court in Makkah, including a fine of thirty thousand riyals, confiscation and destruction of the seized products, and defamation by publishing the verdict in two newspapers at the facility's expense.
In details, MC inspection teams had inspected the said facility, located in Batha Quraish District in Makkah, where foodstuffs of unknown sources were seized, also other products were stored in a poor and bad way, where signs of corruption and damage were seen, including chicken, ground meat, vegetables and spices. All the items in violation were confiscated and destroyed, and accordingly the violation was referred to concerned authorities for taking the legal measures and imposing the proper penalties in accordance with the Anti-Commercial Fraud Law and the Commercial Data System.
The Ministry of Commerce would like to affirm the continuation of addressing those violating the Anti-Commercial Fraud Law and to impose the legal penalties against them, due to the risks they may pose on the health and safety of consumers. Notably, the regulations provide for penalties of up to three-year imprisonment, a fine of up to one million riyals or both, and defamation by publishing the verdict in local newspapers at the violators’ expense, besides deporting the illegal labors from the Kingdom.
MC urges all consumers to lodge their complaints and reports through MC Consumer Call Center (1900), or through the application of a Commercial Violation Report, or via the Ministry’s website.