Southern China's Guangdong Province Tuesday started to monitor prices, in a bid to prevent profiteering from fears over severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
The price departments of Guangdong would closely watch prices of SARS-related medicines, commodities and daily requisites, said Ma Zhuangchang, deputy director of Guangdong Prices Bureau.
At the same time, the province opened a 24-hour hotline on 12358 to allow the public to report any irregularities.
Sharp price hikes occurred in Guangdong in February this year as the fear of SARS took hold, but the bureau managed to control the situation, said Ma.
In emergency situations, the bureau had the authority to set price limits on goods and punish merchants who exceeded state-directed prices, Ma said.
(Xinhua News Agency April 23, 2003)
