A shop assistant who declined to be named said the mini fans, sold from 6.90 ringgit (US$1.80) apiece, were popular all-year round due to Malaysia’s tropical weather.

“Of late, people have been asking for the manual handheld ones due to the reports about the battery-powered ones exploding. I’ve not personally received any complaints about such incidents.

“The mini fan that exploded could have overheated or the battery could have malfunctioned,” he said.

He was referring to an incident last week involving a primary school pupil in Seberang Prai who injured his right wrist after a mini fan he was using exploded.

A relative reportedly said that the boy had brought the gadget to school due to the hot weather.

A sales assistant at another stall selling a similar variety of handheld fans said sales had been good with more than 10 sold daily.

“The stock comes from China. I’ve been selling it for more than 10 years and it is a very popular item.

“The hand-cranked one is also popular and sold for about 10 ringgit depending on the model,” he said.

(US$1 = 3.91 ringgit)