Toxic cough syrup case: Shop owners, distributer sent on physical remand
A court on Tuesday sent three men suspected of involvement in the sale of a deadly cough syrup that claimed 17 lives in Lahore on a four-day physical remand.
The police sought a 10-day physical remand from the court to carry out investigations against Muhammad Rizwan, owner of Ali Medical Store, Muhammad Fida, owner of Bismillah Medical Store and Muhammad Rauf, a distributor.
According to details, Dr Asim Hussain, a health officer, registered a case against the accused contending that they had a hand in selling the syrup, Tyno, to the victims – a majority of whom were drug addicts.
The Punjab Health Department on Monday imposed a ban on Tyno, manufactured by Reko Pharmacal Lahore, and directed drug inspectors to immediately drop its stock.
According to the police, some of the victims were found dead in a graveyard where addicts used to take different kinds of drugs. Seven others died in the hospital. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif also ordered an inquiry into the incident on Monday.
Representatives of Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Association (PPMA) said on Tuesday that since the Drug Testing Laboratory (DTL) report is yet to declare Tyno poisonous, it was ‘not appropriate’ to hold anybody responsible for the deaths before investigations into the case are finalised.
PPMA Zonal Chairman Saleem Iqbal claimed that the deaths were not caused by any poisonous ingredient; therefore it was inappropriate to arrest any pharmaceutical company owner.
He added that PPMA representatives should also be included in the investigation team probing the matter to make its findings fair and transparent.
Meanwhile, the first autopsy report of one of the victims has been prepared at the King Edward Medical University. An official said the body’s organs have been sent to the Punjab Chemical Examiner for more tests.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 28th, 2012.
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sab bakwas hai
dear the matter is that the causulities are due to drinking poisnius bear but the drug inspecturs caught inocen peoples
Please read the latest news
http://tribune.com.pk/story/472126/nothing-wrong-with-tyno-syrup-forensic-report/#comment-1119677
so if there is nothing wrong with the medicine, how can those ppl be sent on remand. If im going to overdose on an over the counter medicine, how is it the fault of the manufacturer, the shopkeeper, etc.
How can you hold the drug company people accountable for the actions of drug addicts? Yes they need to help people with addiction overcome their problem but remember over 6000 people died last year in the US alone from the abuse of medications too.
It's hardly surprising that Tyno contained Dextramethorphan (DXM). Kids in the US have been getting high on DXM for ages and perhaps this batch was tainted. Better watch the stuff that's available over the counter.