Photos taken in a Malaysian shopping centre have horrified social media users with cinema seats and leather products ravaged by mould.
Fabricator Chong returned to his store after the country's two-month lockdown to find handbags, wallets, belts and shoes covered in mould.
The 47-year-old told The Star Malaysia on Monday products throughout the mall were mouldy, including the seats in the shopping centre's cinema. He says it was likely due to high humidy, which is common in the nation.
"As the mall temperature depends on the air conditioning, sometimes it may be humid when the cool temperature suddenly rises," he said.
"This causes a sudden increase in water vapour in the surrounding air, making it more likely for mould to grow."
But Chong says the mould seemed to be easily removed so not all products were destroyed.
"It makes the products look less attractive but it does not affect their function. All we did was use a bit of oil and polish them with a clean cloth."
The photos online have since gone viral with over 47,000 shares and were believed to have been taken at Metrojaya shopping centre in Kota Kinabalu.
"We would like to address a social media posting involving our Metrojaya Suria Sabah store which has been circulating online," the mall said in a statement on Monday.
"Please note that the photos in circulation were taken solely for internal use... There are various reasons why the goods came to be in that condition. We are still in the process of investigating this."
They said all of the damaged goods have been replaced and photos show staff in PPE cleaning and disinfecting the shopping centre before they were reopening on Wednesday.
Another store owner, known as Ms Lai, told The Star said most of the products weren't damaged and could be cleaned.
"Some products on the display rack had dust on them as we were unable to clean them when we were closed. Most of our other products are fine as we wrapped them in paper for storage before we closed for the MCO.
"As most of our products are not pure leather and made of PU leather or PVC leather, they are less prone to mould," she said.
