After news of tanker fraud rocked parts of Southeast Asia, several countries came forward to admit they too were plagued by the problem.
Just last week, the Philippines announced that more than 900 gas stations were found to be cheating customers by filling up less than what they paid for. Similar scams have recently been uncovered in Malaysia and Indonesia, with Malaysia revoking the licenses of more than 300 petrol stations.
The root of the problem lies in dishonest gas station operators tampering with dispensers in order to make more profits. In some cases, the machine can be manipulated to show that more fuel is being dispensed than the actual amount of fuel that ends up in the customer's vehicle.
Affected countries have vowed to act quickly to stop the scams and protect consumers. In the Philippines, the Department of Trade and Industry has ordered all gas stations to recalibrate fuel pumps and impose tougher penalties on violators.
As Southeast Asia continues to develop and the number of vehicles on the roads continues to increase, incidents like this are concerning. We hope that relevant departments will remain vigilant and work together to prevent such scams from happening again.
