SINGAPORE, May 29 (Kyodo) By: Siti Rahil

Alarmed at the rapid spread of ''Ecstasy'' abuse among young people in
affluent Southeast Asian cities, governments in the region have started to
crack down on the psychedelic drug, raiding nightspots and toughening laws
against both users and traffickers.

Most Southeast Asian countries have strict laws to combat the abuse and
trafficking of narcotic drugs such as heroin and cannabis. However, Ecstasy,
which emerged in the region only in the last two years, mainly smuggled from
Europe, is a new threat.

First popularized by Western tourists and expatriates at parties and discos,
the drug is now trendy among young people who take it to help them dance all
night long. Organized local syndicates now import the drugs for distribution
in the region.

Countries such as Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia have all reported a
serious rise in Ecstasy abuse. In most Southeast Asian countries, Ecstasy
abuse has affected mainly young people from affluent families because of the
expensive street price of the pills.

Police in some countries have raided discos and other night entertainment
spots where the drugs proliferate, forcing many errant nightspots to reduce
their business hours, frisk visitors for drugs or close down their businesses
entirely.

But the problem is that most Southeast Asia countries currently do not have
laws which are severe enough to deter people from using or trafficking
Ecstasy.

One of the first countries in the region to tackle the problem is Singapore.

In the tiny island republic, more than 600 people have been prosecuted for
Ecstasy abuse since March last year, while an actress, in her 20s, died of an
overdose of the drug this year.

Singapore's Central Narcotics Bureau seized 39,000 pills last year and has
collected 17,000 so far this year.

To deter people from using the drug, Singaporean Chief Justice Yong Pung How
ruled in December last year that firsttime offenders could face 12 to 18
months in jail upon conviction. The maximum punishment is 10 years jail and a
20,000 Singapore dollar (14,290 U.S. dollar) fine.

Singapore police have intensified their raids of nightspots and have forced
many of them to close before midnight.

In Singapore, those who are hooked on Ecstasy are usually unemployed or
unskilled workers. They can be easily identified because ''Ecstasy abusers,
particularly in Singapore, are known to shake their heads while dancing and
look as if they are on a hallucination trip,'' said a narcotics officer.

In a bid to escape being arrested in Singapore, some Singaporeans now take a
ferry to Indonesia's nearby Batam Iland for ''shakehead'' sessions at local
discotheques there.

In Indonesia, one of the more highly publicised Ecstasy cases was the arrest
of a 24yearold Indonesian actress last year for possession of almost 30,000
Ecstasy pills.

The actress fled to the United States but was later arrested by Indonesian
police detectives in cooperation with the U.S. Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI).

In Indonesia, Ecstasy abuse has also spread to people from the lower class,
with many young women lured into prostitution to get the money to buy the
pills. Sources with the Jakarta city police say there are at least 11 Ecstasy
syndicate networks in Indonesia.

The Indonesian government is trying to introduce a law which will ensure that
abusers and traffickers will get a minimum 15 years in jail or a hefty fine.

Malaysian authorities are also hitting out at nightspots in their effort to
control Ecstasy abuse.

The Kuala Lumpur government plans to introduce a law that will allow
operators of entertainment spots to be charged with trafficking if drugs,
including Ecstasy, are found on their premises.

Several states in Malaysia have also ordered entertainment outlets to close
by midnight to curb social ills, including drug abuse.

''We give people the right to enjoy themselves but we find that Ecstasy pills
are used in entertainment places and there are some who dance as if they had
lost all their senses,'' Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said
earlier this year.

''When night falls, just go to sleep... 12 midnight is enough,'' he said.

About 20,000 Ecstasy pills were seized in Malaysia last year and another
15,000 in the first four months of this year.

The Viennabased U.N. International Narcotics Control Board has said in its
1997 report that synthetic drugs such as Ecstasy will explode into an
international problem in the 21st century, surpassing the threat posed by
plantbased narcotic drugs.

Hamid Ghodse, president of the Board, said recently Ecstasy is not a safe or
benign substance. ''We do not know what will happen to the brains of regular
users in 20 years' time.''