Unsafe electrical goods put company in court

A Birmingham distribution firm was ordered to pay £9,821 after pleading guilty to three offences under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 at Birmingham Magistrates Court.

Yi Li, Principal Director of Newemoo Ltd, Digbeth, also pleaded guilty to three offences relating to the safety of electrical goods distributed by the company for online electrical retailers based in the Far East. Both Li and Newemoo Ltd were fined £2,250 each and ordered to pay £5,171 in costs, plus a £75 victim surcharge each.

Birmingham City Council brought the case following a referral from Hampshire County Council, after a test purchase of an X6 Cubot smart phone kit in August 2014. Independent safety tests revealed the phone charger posed a serious risk of fire and electrical shock.

City council Trading Standards officers visited the firm’s premises in February 2015 to inspect the warehouse, where they found a number of similar Cubot phone kits from the same manufacturer in China. Three phone kits were taken for examination and testing – one of which failed the safety test on marking and instructions, and notably posed a serious risk of fire and electric shock.

Following this result, officers returned to the premises in April 2015 and seized 33 X6 Cubot phone kits and 82 similar items. Several other electrical items were also taken for testing – including AC/DC adaptors for audio visual equipment, which were also found to be dangerous. Full story is here