This young man, who earned RM1,000 per day by trading counterfeit branded clothing on social media for six months, had his operation exposed by the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (KPDN) in Penang. A Mogan, the Chief Enforcement Officer of KPDN Penang, stated that the raid at 3 pm found a 27-year-old man using a low-cost flat in Air Itam as a storage space for his merchandise, paying a monthly rent of RM500. 

The inspection of the premises revealed a large quantity of suspected counterfeit branded clothing, bearing registered trademarks of various well-known brands, filling the entire flat on the ground floor, nearly reaching the ceiling of the premises.

"The quantity is too vast and hasn't been fully counted, but we have seized 5,050 pieces of clothing with registered trademarks of these brands for further investigation, estimated to be worth RM40,400. The raid was conducted after receiving a complaint from the representative of the trademark owner, with the modus operandi being that the man conducted sales activities through live broadcasts on social media platforms," he told reporters.

Mogan mentioned that, based on preliminary investigations, the man claimed to have stored the clothing obtained from a supplier in Kuala Lumpur since 2020, but he only began selling the items directly through the TikTok platform around mid-last year.

He did not rule out the possibility that the clothing, sold for as low as RM8, would be marketed more widely in anticipation of the upcoming Chinese New Year celebration. 

"The man is now detained to assist in further investigations, and the case is being investigated under the Trade Marks Act 2019, with KPDN welcoming information and complaints from the public regarding counterfeit goods sales activities," he said.