DAP lawmaker Kasthuriraani Patto today lodged a police report on the sale of dangerous pills used for abortions by unregulated local websites and anonymous persons.

Speaking at the Dang Wangi district police station in Kuala Lumpur, the Batu Kawan MP said the pills can be easily bought on social media channels.

“The public needs to play a huge role in helping the Health Ministry to combat this issue. They need to lodge reports if they have knowledge about this illegal trade.

“You can just go on social media and search for pill gugur (abortion pill) and you can find the websites selling it with complete testimonies.

“It is disturbing that we do not know how safe the pills are because they do not come from the ministry, nor do they have the approval from the ministry.

“Yet, they are being sold openly online,” she said.

The two-term MP said once a customer purchased the pills, a runner will deliver them to a certain location.

Kasthuriraani said the deal has to be by cash upon delivery to avoid detection by authorities.

“They will have someone to deliver it to you at a hawker stall or by the roadside and it is all cash on delivery.

“They won’t accept bank transfer because it will expose them,” she said.

Asked on the price of the pills, Kasthuriraani said it depended on the size of the foetus.

“If it just a couple of months old, the pills are sold at RM400 but if it is ... older than three or four months the price is RM600.

“The testimonies are disturbing. It is so convincing and I am not surprised people fall for this, especially students who are vulnerable.

“It was reported that in 2015, four women died after taking abortion pills and in 2017 one death was reported. What about the unreported ones?” she added.

She then urged the authorities to put a stop to the sale of the pills.

“I hope with this police report, the police will investigate, MCMC will block or shut down these websites and the ministry to probe further into the selling of these pills,” she said. – July 14, 2019.