SEVENTY people in rural areas are known to have tried to commit suicide by taking pills used to preserve maize in tanks – and 28 have died.
All the cases were reported at the Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital between April 2012 and today. The pills are sold at taxi ranks in and around Mthatha and even by hawkers in the CBD.
Health spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said his department was doing all it could to take the poisonous pills off the streets.
“We have approached the municipality to assist us. This is dangerous stuff, registered in Group 1(a) under the Hazardous Substance Act. That means only registered premises are allowed to sell them. They have to register every buyer and record the purpose of the purchase.
“Given this situation, health, KSD and law enforcement need to step in and get this chemical off the streets,” he said.
The Daily Dispatch reported early last month that a one-year-old baby had died at the Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital in Mthatha in a suspected poison case. The baby’s mother, 28, and children, aged 10, seven and one, swallowed the pills and were rushed to hospital from Phola Park.
According to the act, no person may sell any Group I substance without a licence. Anyone convicted of an offence under the act can receive a fine or up to 10 years imprisonment or both.
Hawkers approached yesterday confirmed that they sell the foul-smelling pills at R10 each.
They buy them from pharmacies at about R45 for 30 pills.
“You just go in there and buy the pills and that’s it,” said a female hawker in York Road. She said she decided to sell the pills because they were in demand.
The Dispatch bought a bottle of the highly toxic pills at one of the pharmacies in town.
With no questions asked, a floor assistant took a bottle from a shelf and asked for about R45.
KSD spokesman Sonwabo Mampoza said its law enforcement officers were deployed around town every day to confiscate goods sold illegally by unregistered hawkers.
- The pill is called aluminium phosphide and is used as a fumigant and a pesticide. Even one pill is enough to kill a person.
“If you get medical help within 30 minutes to an hour then you might stand a chance,” said a doctor. — mphumziz@dispatch.co.za/ sikhon@dispatch.co.za
Deadly poison sold on Mthatha streets
All the cases were reported at the Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital between April 2012 and today. The pills are sold at taxi ranks in and around Mthatha and even by hawkers in the CBD.
Health spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said his department was doing all it could to take the poisonous pills off the streets.
“We have approached the municipality to assist us. This is dangerous stuff, registered in Group 1(a) under the Hazardous Substance Act. That means only registered premises are allowed to sell them. They have to register every buyer and record the purpose of the purchase.
“Given this situation, health, KSD and law enforcement need to step in and get this chemical off the streets,” he said.
The Daily Dispatch reported early last month that a one-year-old baby had died at the Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital in Mthatha in a suspected poison case. The baby’s mother, 28, and children, aged 10, seven and one, swallowed the pills and were rushed to hospital from Phola Park.
According to the act, no person may sell any Group I substance without a licence. Anyone convicted of an offence under the act can receive a fine or up to 10 years imprisonment or both.
Hawkers approached yesterday confirmed that they sell the foul-smelling pills at R10 each.
They buy them from pharmacies at about R45 for 30 pills.
“You just go in there and buy the pills and that’s it,” said a female hawker in York Road. She said she decided to sell the pills because they were in demand.
The Dispatch bought a bottle of the highly toxic pills at one of the pharmacies in town.
With no questions asked, a floor assistant took a bottle from a shelf and asked for about R45.
KSD spokesman Sonwabo Mampoza said its law enforcement officers were deployed around town every day to confiscate goods sold illegally by unregistered hawkers.
“If you get medical help within 30 minutes to an hour then you might stand a chance,” said a doctor. — mphumziz@dispatch.co.za/ sikhon@dispatch.co.za
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending Now
Latest Videos