Masks, hand sterilizers or other disinfectant products cannot be used as claw machine prizes, the Taipei City Office of Commerce said yesterday.
Media outlets have reported that masks and disinfectants have been found in claw machines even as such items have become difficult to find in stores amid fears about the spread of the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).
Masks and sterilizers are regulated by the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act (藥事法), which restricts the sale of masks to retailers with a pharmacy license.
The city government in April 2018 established a management process for regulating claw machines and similar vending facilities, requiring city departments to supervise them and use legal measures, such as fines, to ensure operators remove inappropriate items such as adult toys, cosmetics, food products, cigarettes, alcohol and live animals.
Claw machine operators who use masks as prizes could be fined between NT$30,000 and NT$2 million (US$992 and US$66,116).
There were 16,443 claw machines at 546 registered sites in the city as of Friday, the office said, adding it would ask the police and health departments to increase inspections of the machines this month.
The office also encouraged residents to report violations to the Taipei City hotline at 1999.
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