RUBBER glove manufacturer Top Glove Corp Bhd has confirmed that the death of one of its Nepalese workers on Sept 28 was due to multi-organ failure caused by methanol poisoning.

Migrant worker and labour rights activist Andy Hall cited an e-mail from MNair PR consultancy firm on behalf of Top Glove that was sent to him and was also sighted on request by FocusM.

Hall said he was informed by the PR consultant that medical professionals have determined the cause of death of as multi-organ failure due to methanol poisoning as a result of illicit drinking that have been known to cause severe and even fatal illnesses.

Methanol poisoning occurs with the consumption of alcoholic drink containing toxic dosage of methanol due to improper distillation process of the alcoholic drink or the alcoholic drink was adulterated with methanol.

Hall said his correspondence with MNair was part of a series of multiple enquiries that he has posted directly to the world’s largest glove maker in the past months in his capacity as a voluntary special advisor to the company’s Sinking Fund Governance Committee that was formed in April 2021 in the midst of the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) sanctions on the company.

Hall has been pressing Top Glove continually to respond systematically and transparently complaints by workers to him in the last few months concerning a series of deaths and cancer cases that workers said were still unexplained and are of grave concern to them.

Among others, workers had expressed concern to Hall that the deaths and diseases raised to him could potentially be occupational-related deaths and diseases or even side effects of the recent COVID-19 vaccination.

Malaysiakini today reported that the Malaysian Occupational Safety and Health Department has started an investigation into some of these deaths reported to Hall following media reports and after becoming aware that the company has not reported these deaths to the government body as is required under law.

FocusM understands that the worker who died of methanol poisoning, Sajal Chandra Sheel, was admitted to the Shah Alam Hospital on Sept 18 but passed away 10 days later on Sept 28. Hall was informed that the worker worked in Top Glove’s F12 factory in the packing department.

Hall said MNair had informed him that Top Glove is currently managing procedures pertaining to the body of 10 deceased worker and had offered condolences to the Sheel’s family and loved ones during this difficult time.

Anti-alcohol campaign

The activist also said he has recently been made aware of positive campaigns underway by Top Glove to raise awareness of the risks of ethanol poisoning for its workers.

This includes an online ‘Quit Alcohol Programme’ which was being offered by the company until end-2021 to create awareness about the disadvantages of alcoholism among all employees, to educate alcoholics to quit alcohol and to ensure non-alcoholics never became alcoholics in the first place.

“Such online programmes, if implemented, with proper translation and designed in consultation with worker leaders themselves, can surely prevent deaths and disease,” Hall pointed out.

“But this will only be the case if the company continues to also primarily focus on decent and safe work in its workplaces for all of its workers and ensures work patterns and company practices don’t drive workers to drink, or result in desperate workers turning to illicit and dangerous products due to the lack of availability of legitimate and safe alternatives.”

In a related development, Bernama had reported Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah as saying that 33 deaths due to methanol poisoning were recorded from Sept 9 to 30 this year out of the 55 methanol poisoning cases reported.

From the 33 deaths, 18 cases (or 55%) involved Malaysians while 15 deaths (45%) involved non-citizens from Myanmar, India and Nepal, he said in a statement on Oct 1.

The methanol poisoning cases were reported in seven states namely Selangor with 25 cases, Perak 13, Pahang (five), Penang (six), Kuala Lumpur (four) as well as Johor and Negeri Sembilan one case each.

From the 55 cases reported, 15 were still getting treatment while seven had been discharged from hospitals.

According to Noor Hisham, methanol poisoning was usually linked to drinking illegally processed liquor as methanol was mixed with the drink as a replacement for ethanol as it is relatively cheaper than ethanol.

He said the methanol poisoning symptoms included stomachache, fainting, vomiting, headache and blurred vision within five days after imbibing the toxic alcoholic drink. – Oct 6, 2021

https://focusmalaysia.my/migrant-rights-activist-top-glove-worker-died-from-methanol-poisoning/