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A drug store located in Beijing was fined 3 million RMB (S$587,164) for hiking the price of face masks amid the novel coronavirus outbreak, the Beijing municipal market regulator said on Tuesday, Jan. 28.

Jacked up the prices by six times

The drug store -- the Jinmin Kangtai 55th chain store located in Fengtai District - was selling 10 masks for 850 RMB (S$166.31), according to another report by Beijing Daily.

The price was about six times higher than online prices.

The store was the first to be fined in Beijing during this period of virus outbreak.

The Beijing municipal market regulator said it has investigated 31 such cases since Jan. 23.

Drug store in Tianjin fined too

The Beijing drug store was not the only one to be fined for raising the price of face masks.

According to Global Times, a drug store in Tianjin was fined 3 million RMB (S$587,164) as well for jacking up the price of face masks by about ten times the usual price.

The coronavirus has infected nearly 6,000 people, and killed 132 people so far in China, according to official statistics.

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Top image via Chain Drug Store/WeChat