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Cheap, counterfeit gas cookers threaten explosive consequences
Counterfeit and low-quality gas cookers are still for sale in city stores, despite the danger to consumers.
Fire Prevention and Control Police Department statistics show that 40 gas explosions killed one and injured 24 last year. Property losses were estimated at VND1.2 billion (US$68,600).
"Last year, the number of gas accidents was nine less than in 2007. However, property losses increased by VND800 million ($45,700)," said Nguyen Van Luc, head of the department’s counterfeit goods prevention office.
Luc said that gas explosions were mainly caused by a combination of low-quality gas cookers and lack of awareness by users.
"Many tried to use poor quality cookers and refilled gas containers illegally, which led to gas leaks and explosions," he said.
The department’s market management team No 3, in co-operation with the city police, sealed 400 counterfeit gas cookers imitating well-known trademarks - including Rinnai, Goldsun and Paloma - in a shop on Lang Street, Ha Noi, last January.
The products lacked necessary instructions and proved to be low-quality in tests.
There are roughly 2,400 gas dealers in Ha Noi and HCM City and more than 50 per cent of city residents use gas cookers as their main cooking facilities.
However, product quality is still a big question for consumers.
Nguyen Thi Loan in Tran Phu Street, Ha Dong City, said that the Zenika brand double gas cooker she bought broke the first time she used it.
"I tried to switch it on many times, but I failed and the cooker smelled burnt all the time," Loan said.
Later, Loan discovered that the genuine product was imported from Germany with a two-year warranty and promotional gift. The cooker she purchased cost VND250,000 ($14), one third the price of a real Zenika cooker.
Loan’s neighbour wanted to take her newly-bought Golsun cooker, worth VND300,000 ($17), for maintenance, but she could not find the gas company’s address.
"She tried to take it to the repair shop, but the service cost as much as the initial purchase price," said Loan.
Shop owner Nguyen Thu Huong in Hang Khoai Street said that affordable imported cookers were the most popular items.
"Most of my customers ask for cheap items, ranging from VND200,000 to VND600,000 ($13-$34) each, although I sell many other imported cookers," Huong said, adding that all her products were from Malaysia, the Philippines or China.
Another shop owner, Tran Thanh Son in Kim Nguu Street, said that the price of a fake Goldsun 2007 Gep was VND250,000, Rinnai VND600,000 and Paloma VND300,000, all around VND800,000 cheaper than the genuine brand-name items.
Director of Trade and Telecommunications Service Mekong Co Ltd, one of the three companies in charge of distribution for Japanese Paloma gas cookers in Viet Nam, Nguyen Thi Thu Ha said consumers should check serial stamps and product instructions to distinguish counterfeit from genuine items.
"Consumers should also compare the information on product labels and on the box to avoid low-quality products," Ha said.
According to gas cooker shop owner Nguyen Thi Thuy in Minh Khai Street, there are a number of telltale signs a product is counterfeit: labels painted on fake products are usually rough, the buttons are made from white plastic and cooker trivets are painted black, which usually peels off after it has been used several times.
"Most fake gas cookers are designed without automatic functions to stop supplying gas when people stop cooking. This is the major element to avoid in order to stop explosions and protect consumers," Thuy said.
VietNamNet/Viet Nam News
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