In order to evade detection
They're not for sale
In a sample of cosmetics given to customers
Add a lot of mercury
And then in the way of authentic products with samples
Make a bundle
……
Recently, after the Jiangyin City Procuratorate of Jiangsu Province initiated a public prosecution, the Jiangyin City Court sentenced the defendants Fan, Li, and Wu to fixed-term imprisonment ranging from seven to two years for the crime of producing and selling fake and shoddy products, and Wu was given a suspended sentence and fined between 700,000 yuan and 200,000 yuan.
The mercury content of the "freckle removal artifact" seriously exceeds the standard
In April 2021, the victim, Ms. Zhao, did a manicure at a cosmetics store run by Fan. On the recommendation of the clerk, Ms. Zhao spent 398 yuan to buy a set of "377 Double Brightening Combination" products. The clerk said that this product can quickly remove acne scars and dark spots, and it also comes with a sample of day cream and night cream, and told her that it must be used with a sample to achieve the best effect.
A few days before using the sample, Ms. Zhao noticed that the acne scars and dark spots had lightened significantly, but after a few days, her face began to become red and itchy, and it became more and more serious. Ms. Zhao went to the hospital, where the doctor diagnosed a cosmetic allergy and advised her not to continue using the cosmetic product.
Ms. Zhao sent the sample for testing and found that the mercury content in the sample night cream was 11952.4mg/kg. The Safety and Technical Standards for Cosmetics (2015 Edition) stipulates that the standard mercury content of cosmetics cannot exceed 1mg/kg. Ms. Zhao angrily reported to the Jiangyin Municipal Administration for Market Regulation. The Jiangyin Municipal Administration for Market Supervision and Administration randomly sampled and tested the product, which showed that the mercury content of the sample night cream seriously exceeded the standard, and transferred the clue to the Municipal Public Security Bureau for processing.
After investigation and sampling, it was confirmed that the mercury content in the sample exceeded the standard by 43,000 times, which was an unqualified product.
"The suspect filled the samples by himself in a small workshop, and there was no refined operation standard, so the mercury content of each batch of night cream samples was different, but they all seriously exceeded the standard." Gu Yueyue, the prosecutor in charge, introduced.
The effect of genuine skin beautification is not enough, and the giveaway comes to make up
In July 2021, the police arrested Fan and Wu, and seized 1,329 sets of "377 Double Brightening Combination" gift sample sets at the scene.
"The cosmetics industry is highly competitive, and only by making products have the effect of rapid whitening and freckle removal can they have a place in the market." Fan confessed that in order to create a fist product, she contacted Li, the person in charge of a cosmetics company in Guangzhou.
Li said that if you want to achieve the effect of whitening and freckle removal in the short term, the most effective way is to add a large amount of mercury to the product. However, the mainland has strict testing standards for the mercury content of regular cosmetics, and cosmetics that exceed the standard cannot pass the test at all, let alone enter the market.
How can we not only ensure the effect, but also avoid detection, and can also be put into the market for sales and circulation? Li, who is well versed in the inside story of the cosmetics industry, proposed: the cosmetics with no obvious freckle removal effect but can pass the test are made into large sets of boxes (including day cream and night cream), that is, "genuine", and its outer packaging is marked with product name, composition, content, production batch number, manufacturer and other information in strict accordance with the regulations, and then the sample of the "three nos" product (including day cream and night cream) is presented to customers in the name of non-sale when selling "genuine products". When the product is submitted for inspection, only the "genuine" product is sent for inspection, and it is not sent for inspection as a sample of the gift.
With sales, the turnover in half a year is more than one million
In this way, Li produced a genuine large set of boxes according to Fan's commission, purchased raw materials, and filled and produced small sets of gift boxes by himself. In order to prevent customers from not using small samples to affect the freckle removal effect, Fan emphasized to customers that genuine products and samples must be used together: apply a small sample of day cream and then use a genuine day cream during the day, and apply a sample of night cream first and then use a genuine night cream at night.
"In order to reduce the probability of allergies, we only add mercury to small sample night creams and guide customers to use them in combination." At Li's suggestion, Fan named this product "377 Double Brightening Combination", with a turnover of more than one million yuan in just half a year.
In September 2022, the public security organs transferred the case to the procuratorate for review and prosecution. After investigation, from September 2020 to March 2021, criminal suspects Fan and Wu ordered more than 9,000 sets of "377 Double Brightening Combination" from criminal suspect Li three times at a price of 48 yuan per set, and paid a total of more than 430,000 yuan. Subsequently, it was sold to agents or retailers at prices ranging from 60 yuan to 168 yuan per set, with a total of more than 7,700 sets sold, with a sales amount of more than 1.1 million yuan. The criminal suspects Fan, Wu and Li were suspected of the crime of producing and selling fake and shoddy products by passing off substandard products as qualified products. In July 2023, the procuratorate prosecuted the three for the crime of producing and selling fake and shoddy products. Recently, the court made the above judgment in accordance with the law.
The prosecutor reminded businesses that the red line of the law must not be touched, and they must operate legally and gain a foothold in the market with healthy competition. At the same time, consumers should also be vigilant against all kinds of "special effect" goods, buy goods from formal channels, and if their legitimate rights and interests are violated, they should immediately report or reflect to the relevant departments, and protect their legitimate rights and interests through legal channels.
Source: CCTV "Today's Statement"
WeChat public account of Jiangyin City Procuratorate of Jiangsu Province