Manama: Five branches of a supermarket in Bahrain were shut down for 15 days on charges of overpricing and its owners were referred to the public prosecution.
The decision was taken after a video posted on social media on Wednesday showed that the supermarket was selling some products for higher prices than their tags indicated.
The video was taken by an angry customer who talked about the overpricing at the supermarket before heading to the cashier and asking him to check the price of an item, where the till showed a higher price than the one mentioned on the product.
In a bid to substantiate his claim further, the Bahraini customer took two similar articles to the cashier and the tag scan check showed two different prices. Accusing the supermarket of cheating its customers, he posted the clip on social media that went viral and prompted the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism to take legal action.
“The Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism administratively closed five branches of Ruyan Cold Store for 15 days and referred the owners to the public prosecution in light of the video which circulated on social media,” the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry officials said that overpricing was a rare occurrence in Bahrain.
The Consumer Protection Directorate said that it would take all legal and administrative measures to protect consumers rights, and urged public to report such irregularities.
