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Fake shampoo puts pair in lather
Updated: 2010-04-01 13:07
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Two wholesalers trading counterfeit shampoo were sentenced to prison terms by Daxing district court.
Huang Fuhui was sentenced to three years and six months, and his co-conspirator, Zeng Lihong, was sentenced to three years in prison.
The pair sold 1,419 cases of counterfeit brand-name shampoo, Mirror Evening News reported on Tuesday.
The products were valued at 410,000 yuan.
The fake products, which were labeled as VS Sassoon, Pantene, LEK, Rejoice and other brands, were found by police in Daxing district on July 8.
Early in 2009, Huang and Zeng began bringing the counterfeit shampoos from a manufacturer in Dajiaoting in Chaoyang district to the Xiao Jing wholesale market in the southern Fengtai district of Beijing.
A driver surnamed Xie, who transported the counterfeit goods to the market, said the products were so popular that deliveries between Dajiaoting to the Xiao Jing market were made every 10 days.
The police found more than 20 vendors selling the counterfeit shampoos at the market.
At the root of the booming business is the visible profit margin, police officials said.
A 400 ml bottle of counterfeit Procter & Gamble shampoo Head & Shoulders was priced at 5 to 6 yuan, while the real one costs eight times more.
Han Xiangsheng, a salesman for a company at the market that sells brand name shampoos, said some of the dealers sell the fake shampoos for the easy money.
"You make only 3 yuan for each authentic bottle," Han said. "But 8 yuan for the fake one."
Among the regular customers snapping up the fake shampoos at the Xiao Jing Market were employees of hair salons and local grocery stores.
A customer at a hair salon in the Shijingshan area told the Mirror Evening News that his head was severely hurt when a salon employee washed his hair with fake shampoo in early March.
The manager of the salon explained that counterfeit shampoo improves profit margins, adding that using fake shampoo is a widespread industry practice.
Since 2006, Daxing district court has handled many similar cases, sentencing more than 10 offenders.
Shampoo expert Zhang Ling said low prices, unclear tags and poor packaging are characteristics of the counterfeits.
"Fake shampoo is often diluted and has a foul odor," Zhang said, adding that harmful substances in the fake shampoo could lead to hair loss, burns and rashes.
（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）
About the broadcaster:
Nelly Min is an editor at China Daily with more than 10 years of experience as a newspaper editor and photographer. She has worked at major newspapers in the U.S., including the Los Angeles Times and the Detroit Free Press. She is fluent in Korean and has a 2-year-old son.
