A Lotte outlet in Beijing has been fined 500,000 yuan (72,570 U.S. dollars) for promotions fraud discovered in January, said the city's authorities.
The store in the city's Chaoyang District used fake or misleading pricing to cheat consumers in its promotion ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year, said the Beijing Development and Reform Commission following an inspection from Jan. 20 to 22.
For example, the store claimed that a bag of rice was marked down to 29.9 yuan from 52.9. But an investigation showed the price for the bag was actually 29.9 yuan per bag before the promotion as well. Similar fraud occurred with other goods such as liquor, food and garments.
The decision was issued by the commission on March 3 and was posted on its official website on Monday.
The acts constituted serious price fraud, said an official of the commission, adding that Lotte in Beijing had been fined before over illegal actions in pricing, but the violations have continued.
"Shopping malls and supermarkets are a key target in our price-related law enforcement," said the official. Last year, the number of price-related complaints in shopping centers accounted for nearly half of the total the commission received.
