Students down with food poisoning in Penang

Two of the fifty students from three secondary schools here who suffered food poisoning Friday night, after eating supper at their hostels, were warded in hospital.

Penang Health Department Director Datuk Dr Lailanor Ibrahim said the students were from Sekolah Menengah Teknik (SMT) Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama (SMKA) (P) Al-Mashoor and SMKA (L) Al-Mashoor.

"The two students who were warded were from SMT Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra while 17 were from SMKA (P) Al-Mashoor and 31 from SMKA (L) Al-Mashoor," he said when contacted.

The total number of students who were affected was not known, he said.

He said the students had eaten "roti jala" with chicken curry at about 10pm.

Dr Lailanor said however, they only suffered the symptoms of food poisoning like fever, vomiting and diarrhea between 7am until late afternoon yesterday.

A survey found that the affected students were taken to the Penang Hospital in stages and the number of victims was expected to increase.

Meanwhile, Penang Education Director Osman Hussain when contacted said the affected students were in stable condition and said the full report on the cause of the food poisoning would be obtained today.

"The situation is under control and the students were taken to the hospital for treatment at the hospital by their teachers," he said.