Panda Mart could face penalties over ‘potentially deadly’ lamps

Ultra-discount retailer Panda Mart could face fines or other regulatory enforcement action after being forced to pull “potentially deadly” electric items from its shelves.

Energy Safe Victoria is conducting an investigation into the company after seizing dozens of products and issuing an urgent warning on Thursday morning over table lamps with exposed wires that could cause electric shocks if touched when the lamps were on.

It’s the second time since opening its doors to long customer queues late last month that Panda Mart has had its products seized by regulators over safety concerns.

Panda Mart lamps were seized by Energy Safe Victoria inspectors on Wednesday.

Panda Mart has sold between 50 and 100 unsafe lamps that are now in people’s homes, which Energy Safe Victoria chief executive Leanne Hughson said she was concerned about. Some of those lamps had exposed wires and direct access to dangerous parts, while others had covers over exposed wiring that could be easily removed, the regulator found.

“If anyone touches those [live parts], they could end up with a serious injury or die, particularly if little children are around,” she said. “Don’t use them. Take them back. You’re putting yourself and your family at risk.”

Inspectors also found study desks that were unsafe due to socket outlets that could potentially expose consumers to live parts. The regulator is encouraging customers to return their products to Panda Mart and said they were entitled to a refund.

Customers queued up for Panda Mart when it opened, but some of its products are now under scrutiny by state and federal regulators.Credit: Gemma Grant

Energy Safe Victoria sent its inspectors back to Panda Mart on Thursday afternoon to seize more items, including travel adaptors and power boards, for inspection in its testing lab. It said it would issue further safety warnings if there were any concerns.

Depending on the outcome of its investigation, the retailer would be prohibited from selling offending items again, be compelled to issue product recalls, and face “other enforcement action”, said Hughson.

Panda Mart had hundreds of products removed from its shelves last week, when inspectors from Consumer Affairs Victoria seized items deemed unsafe, including bike helmets, archery sets, luggage straps, toy guns, children’s make-up sets, birthday cards, glitter balls, calculators and flashing toys.

Among the products removed then were baby rattles containing button batteries that weren’t properly secured and labelled. If swallowed by children, the batteries could burn through the oesophagus in just two hours, causing severe bleeding or death, the regulator warned last week.

Retailers and manufacturers are responsible for ensuring that products they sell meet Australian safety standards. Hughson said electric products – such as those that contain batteries, as well as scooters, ebikes, lamps, and mobile phones – needed to have the correct compliance mark on them, a triangle symbol with a tick inside it, which signified they had gone through the correct certification processes and were safe to use.

Consumers should also play their part and check for those compliance marks, she added.

Panda Mart has said it will stop selling the lamps and remove the socket outlets from the desks.

A spokesperson for the company said it was actively checking its range for any products that might be non-compliant.

“As far as we know, there’s nothing [else],” the spokesperson said. “If something’s not up to standard, we remove [it] immediately.

“It’s a learning curve for us as well.”

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