GROS 'Forced' To Pop Ecstasy Pills

KUALA LUMPUR: Nightclub patrons are forcing guest relations officers
to take Ecstasy pills in order to be in a "happier mood when providing
services''.

MCA Public Complaints and Service Bureau head Michael Chong said these
pills were supplied by rich customers who liked watching GROs getting
high.

"These people are sadists. They threaten not to pay for the services
of these women if the latter refused to consume these pills.

"So many of these GROs are pressured into taking these pills and
became addicts,'' he told a press conference here yesterday.

In one case, a former GRO from Johor Baru quit her job after she could
not deal with the pressure from customers.

"Many of her colleagues at the nightclubs are now addicts.

"She decided to quit her job after realising that these pills were
causing her pain and suffering. Her family had also broken up as a
result,'' said Chong.

In another case, Madam Lee, 21, became addicted to Ecstasy pills after
she was forced by her jobless husband to work as a GRO, for which she
was paid around RM600 per night.

"The husband wants her to continue consuming these pills in order to
entertain her customers and had even threatened to beat her up.

"She is now seeking our help in trying to get a divorce from her
husband. She could also be in danger as she had exposed the nightclub
patrons,'' said Chong, adding that the Lees had a one-year-old son.

In a related case, a housewife had left her husband after his
addiction to Ecstasy caused him to behave violently towards her and
their two children.

Chong said Madam Chio, 20, from Ampang claimed that her sub-contractor
husband had even attempted to strangle her and the children, aged two
and seven months, respectively.

"She ran away from home, leaving her two children with the
mother-in-law,'' he said, adding that her mother-in-law had sought his
help in tracing Chio.

"But Chio came to clarify that she had run away because she was afraid
of her husband,'' he said.