Over 800 pumps at fuel stations were malfunctioning, inspections found
Forty-five fuel station operators have been fined so far this year after inspections found more than 800 malfunctioning fuel pumps at the stations, the Department of Internal Trade (DIT) said on Friday.
The issue caught public attention after a Facebook user on Wednesday posted a photo claiming she had been short-changed at a PTT station in Samut Sakhon’s Krathum Ban district. The photo shows a two-litre bottle used to get fuel. The woman said she paid for 1.8 litres of fuel, but the bottle was only half full.
After the post went viral, PTT Plc issued a statement admitting that the pump’s check valve had malfunctioned, resulting in some of the fuel flowing back into the pump.
DIT deputy director-general Jakkra Yodmanee said that department officials visited the station on Friday to investigate the issue, and found that the malfunctioning pump had been fixed.
The station’s operator was fined for using measuring equipment that failed to meet legal standards, Jakkra said. The charge has a maximum penalty of six months in jail, a 20,000 baht fine, or both.
The DIT will send officials to check the pumps at the PTT station at least twice a month to make sure that it complies with the law, Jakkra said.
It also ordered the operator to compensate customers who used the pump between July 24 and 27.
Jakkra said that from January to July this year, the DIT had conducted 7,827 inspections of fuel stations nationwide. Of the 172,156 pumps inspected, 802 were found to be malfunctioning and 45 fuel-station operators were fined.
To report suspicious fuel pumps contact the DIT hotline at 1569.
