The case of an individual businessman in Jing’an District has been transferred to police by the district’s market regulators over price gouging.

During a recent inspection, officials of the district’s market watchdog found delivery workers gathered at 90 Shaanxi Road S. to pick up a large number of food materials.

A man surnamed Gao was found using the business license of a local catering management company to operate an online store called Shuyou Fresh Food.

He began selling vegetables, eggs, and poultry from April 10, amid the city’s COVID-19 lockdown, and made handsome profits by significantly raising the prices.

Inspectors found a price difference of up to a whopping 437 percent for food items in Gao’s procurement and sales. The lowest price difference was still a significant 150 percent.

Gao had sold about 3,000 packages of food since the case was uncovered, according to the district administration for market regulation. He is now under investigation.

4月10日以来，犯罪嫌疑人高某（男，42岁）非法租用他人食品经营营业执照在网络平台开店，大量囤积青菜、鸡蛋、鸡、鸭等食品，并大幅抬高价格对外销售，累计销售175余万元，非法获利150余万元。目前，犯罪嫌疑人高某因涉嫌非法经营罪已被静安警方依法采取刑事强制措施，案件正在进一步侦办中。

*Source from gov.sh