Pharmacy Founder Accused of Peddling Phony 3M Face Masks Amid Outbreak

What’s new: The CEO of a Beijing pharmacy chain has been accused of selling around half a million phony 3M face masks.

Li Dong, who founded the Kang Baixin Drugstore chain in 2004, attended a hearing Thursday in Chaoyang District People’s Court where he was accused of selling counterfeit or inferior products, a lawyer familiar with the case told Caixin.

In late January, Li saw a potential money-making opportunity in selling counterfeit face masks amid the country’s growing coronavirus epidemic, according to the indictment against him. He dispatched his cousin, Li Yuzhang to find a supplier who later provided them with fake masks with forged 3M branding and certificates of authenticity for a price of 1 yuan (14 U.S. cents) to 2 yuan each.

Those masks were sold at his pharmacies in Beijing for 6.5 yuan to 12 yuan each, earning Li Dong 4 million yuan, according to the indictment. Beijing police took Li Dong, his cousin and another associate into custody in late January and early February.

What’s the background: In February, China’s supreme court, along with three government departments, issued a new rule that made it a crime to sell counterfeit or substandard products that could hinder the containment of Covid-19.

Contact reporter Lu Yutong (yutonglu@caixin.com) and editor Michael Bellart (michaelbellart@caixin.com)