WHEN ECSTASY PILLS SPELL BIG TROUBLE FOR PROPERTY OWNERS

IPOH: Property owners who allow their premises to be used for the production
of Ecstasy pills risk facing severe punishment.

They could be arrested under the Dangerous Drugs Act for abetting their
tenants in manufacturing the pills.

Deputy Home Minister Datuk Zainal Abidin Zin said the authorities had made
numerous arrests at rented premises in various parts of the country which
were used to process the pills.

He said such activities were carried out secretly in places such as
residential areas.

Zainal, who is also president of Pemadam (the Association for the Prevention
of Drug Abuse), said arrests had been made in Kuala Lumpur, Penang,
Butterworth, Johor Baru and Sungai Petani.

"We believe such activities are also being carried out at other places. We
are now carrying out a nationwide surveillance,'' he said after closing a
Pemadam course here on Saturday to train speakers on explaining the dangers
of drug abuse to the people.

Zainal hoped that property owners would investigate the background of
would-be tenants before renting out their properties.

He also urged companies which carried out maintenance at apartments and
condominiums to tip off the police on illegal activities.

He hoped other political parties would follow in the footsteps of the MCA to
fight the Ecstasy menace.