WITH Chinese New Year shopping in full swing, the authorities are ramping up checks on weighing scales in shops to ensure consumers get what they pay for.

Officers from Spring Singapore, the government agency that regulates weights and measures, have stepped up their checks from a weekly basis to almost daily since last week. They ensure weighing equipment is accurate, tamper-proof seals are unbroken and accuracy labels are affixed to the scales.

Some 100 weighing instruments, inspected since last week, complied with the requirements.

Spring's head of consumer product safety, Mr Sim Geok Seng, said checks are increased during festive periods, when the demand for weighed goods such as sweets and snacks rises.

It is also stepping up checks on portable gas canisters and gas cookers which are commonly used for steamboat reunion dinners. The two items are among 45 categories of controlled goods that must be registered with Spring and issued with the safety mark before they can be sold.

Of 20 shops checked last week, three were found selling the Finex brand of gas canisters without the safety mark. The canisters, fewer than 10 at each shop, were removed and the stores were warned to stop selling them. Spring is carrying out safety tests on the canisters.

It has received two complaints on gas canisters and gas cookers since 2008.

In the case of weighing scales, there were 35 complaints and three infringements in 2009. Last year, there were 24 complaints and two infringements.

Mr Sim advised consumers to make sure a scale registers zero before goods are weighed and that the wrapper or container is not included in the measurement.

Under the Weights and Measures Act, it is an offence to use non-verified weighing or measuring equipment for trade. The penalty is a fine of up to $5,000 and/or a jail sentence of up to three months.

It is also an offence under the Consumer Protection (Trade Descriptions and Safety Requirements) Act to sell controlled goods without the safety mark. The penalty is a fine of up to $10,000 and/or a jail sentence of up to two years.

Mr Yip Wai Keong, manager of waxed-meat stall Chinatown Guangzhou in Smith Street, said: 'We make sure our scales are accurate so customers trust us enough to come back every year.'

Ms Christine Yew, 53, a sales assistant shopping in Chinatown yesterday, said: 'I read the weighing scales before I make payment but it is good that the authorities are also stepping up checks.'

lijie@sph.com.sg