PENANG HOTEL JOINS DRUG WAR, POLICE LAUD INITIATIVE

PENANG: A city hotel has joined the war against amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) such as Ecstasy by putting up No Drugs Allowed signboards and anti-drug posters at its pub's entrance.

Chief Police Officer Deputy Comm Datuk Arthur Edmonds praised the management of City Bayview Hotel for taking the initiative to keep its premises drug-free.

"I have always stressed that the police cannot work alone in fighting the Ecstasy scourge.

"We need the help of the public and corporate companies to create awareness in keeping the state free of such drugs," he told newsmen at the hotel on Tuesday night.

The pub, located at the hotel's basement, has a big signboard declaring "Drug-Free Club. Stay Away From Drugs. You Feel Safe And Secure At Carmen NY Club" while other "No Drugs Allowed" signs are hung up along the staircase leading to the premises.

DCP Edmonds said police had taken various measures to check the scourge, such as conducting regular raids on nightspots and entertainment outlets.

"So far, 51 people had been prosecuted over the past three months after traces of ATS were found in their urine samples," he said.

A mini drug exhibition and campaign showing Ecstasy pills seized by the police was also held outside the hotel for about 100 guests.

Penang MCA secretary Datuk Koay Kar Huah said the party's main aim was to make the state drug-free.

"Other than ATS, the campaign is also aimed at illegal video gaming machines," he added.

State Social Ills Committee chairman Lau Chiek Tuan, who is Berapit assemblyman, said over 20,000 MCA Youth members had been asked to compile a list of Ecstasy haunts in the state.