Two in court over fake Close Up

Thursday, March 19, 2009 (Page 47)

THE trial of two Chinese nationals accused of possessing fake Close Up toothpaste has begun at the Accra Circuit Court.
Tang Wei, Director of W.B. Impex Ltd, and Chen Chuping are accused of being the source of the fake Close Up toothpaste which is believed to be poisonous and is currently being sold to unsuspecting members of the public.
Tang and Chen have pleaded not guilty to the possession and sale of goods marked with counterfeited trade mark.
They have each been granted bail in the sum of GH¢20,000 with a surety each.
At the court’s hearing in Accra on Tuesday, the Marketing Director of Unilever Ghana Limited, Prince Asante Obeng, told the court that consumers of the fake product developed sours in their gums.
Led by an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Mr P. K. Frimpong, to give his evidence-in-chief, Mr Obeng said “tests have proved that the fake Close Up is near to poison”.
According to him, some time in December 2006 he received numerous complaints from consumers who said their mouths went sour after using Close Up toothpaste.
He said Unilever followed up and picked samples of the fake product from the market.
He said the fake ones were green in colour and further explained that the green-coloured Close Up brands were mainly designed for Francophone countries in West Africa, while the red-coloured paste was designed for Anglophone countries.
Mr Obeng stated that after picking some of the fake samples on the market, he called his colleague in Cote d’Ivoire to enquire whether or not he had exported green Close Up to Ghana, to which his colleague answered in the negative.
He also told the court, presided over by Mrs Elizabeth Ankomah, that he got further information from his sales manager at the Okaishie and Makola markets that hawkers were selling the fake toothpaste to unsuspecting consumers.
According to him, Unilever then contracted a company called Industry and Marketing Support System to investigate the source of the product, which subsequently led to the arrest of the accused persons.
He tendered in evidence the original and fake brands of the Close Up toothpaste and informed the court that the accused persons brought in the fake products from China.
Mr Obeng described the distinction between the original and the fake products to the court.
During cross-examination from counsel for the accused persons, Mr Peter Zwennes, the witness told the court that he was not aware that the toothpaste was being manufactured in Cote d’Ivoire.
According to him, the only place the fake product was being manufactured was China.
Hearing continues tomorrow.