'RAT POISON ADDED TO ECSTASY'

BENTONG: Rat poison is being added to locally produced Ecstasy pills to
give a bigger kick to techno music-crazed pill poppers.

MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Ling Liong Sik said police told him that
analysis of the pills showed that some contained highly toxic rat poison.

"Ecstasy pills are getting more and more contaminated while the price is
going down quickly to lure more victims.

"Very soon, it wil be RM5 or RM6 per pill against the initial RM100 to
RM150 each,'' he said after opening the Bentong MCA building yesterday.

Dr Ling said MCA had received encouraging feedback from many parents that
their children no longer dared to frequent discos.

"The children fear being caught by police. Many parents feel relieved,'' Dr
Ling said, adding that police in almost all states were stepping up raids
on discos and pubs to eradicate the Ecstasy menace.

He said police welcomed MCA or anybody to provide tip-offs to raid places
peddling Ecstasy pills or running horse racing machines.

"Many people on the ground are tipping off police.''

Dr Ling said he was happy that the campaign at the national level which was
supposed to be launched on Monday had already received all round support
from the people and organisations.

"They include non-governmental organisations, the inter-religious council,
the National Union of the Teaching Profession and Chinwoo Association,'' Dr
Ling said.

He said posters in Chinese, Bahasa Malaysia, Tamil and English would be
printed and distributed.

Films on anti-Ecstasy would also be screened on television, Dr Ling said.