Customs officials on Friday urged members of the public to stop using a type of face mask, after test results revealed that its bacterial count far exceeded the government’s permitted limit and breached the Consumer Goods Safety Ordinance.

In a statement, the department said officers tested two types of surgical masks purchased from two shops run by a telecom group in Kwun Tong, and found that a sample taken from one of the types had a bacterial count that exceeded the maximum permitted limit by about 33 times.

They also found that the packages of both types of masks only bore warning signs in English, contravening the Consumer Goods Safety Regulation.

“Noting the test results, Customs conducted immediate enforcement action and searched several retail shops under the group concerned, a related supplier and a related manufacturer,” the statement wrote.

“A total of 3 660 pieces of the surgical masks, including 10 pieces in two bags of the masks with suspected exceeded bacterial limit and 3 650 pieces in 730 bags of the masks without Chinese warnings or cautions, suspected to be connected with the case, were seized.”

A 60-year-old general manager of the telecom group was arrested and has been released on bail pending further investigation.