4 Deaths At Pinkfish Countdown Allegedly Due To Ecstasy
The police said a total of seven people exhibited similar symptoms and had been warded in hospitals.
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The police believe the four people who died after attending the Pinkfish Countdown at Sunway Lagoon on 31 December to celebrate the New Year could have taken ecstasy.
READ MORE: Lab Results Might Shed Light On Mysterious Pinkfish New Year’s Eve Fatalities
However, Selangor police chief Hussein Omar Khan said they are still awaiting confirmation of the toxicology analysis report.
Based on the police statement, the four were among seven people admitted to Kuala Lumpur Hospital and University Malaya Medical Centre with the same symptoms.
Hussein said all seven did not attend the concert together but were present separately with their respective friends and family members.
So far, two patients are still being treated in the intensive care unit (ICU) while one has been discharged.
The police have opened four sudden death investigation papers to determine if there was any criminal or poisoning element involved.
The police have also recorded statements from six witnesses and more will be called upon to assist in the investigation, including the concert organiser and friends of the victims.
Meanwhile, Pinkfish’s management previously said the deaths occurred outside the event’s premises and that they would fully cooperate with the authorities in the investigations.
Pinkfish reiterated that the safety of attendees and other stakeholders had always been their highest priority and precautionary measures had been taken at the event.
The management said more than 100 policemen were present, including other security personnel and K9 units at entry points.
Concert Deaths in Malaysia
The current incident was not the first time there were deaths in concerts in Malaysia. The last time it happened was in 2014, when six people between the ages of 19 and 28 were rushed to the hospital after losing consciousness at the Future Music Festival Asia (FMFA) concert at the Bukit Jalil Stadium carpark on 15 March 2014.
Unfortunately, they were pronounced dead en route to the University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) and the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (PPUKM).
Initial reports attributed the six deaths to drug overdose. However, a post-mortem report issued two months after the incident revealed that the cause was due to heatstroke. The drugs played a negligible role.
The incident caused many upcoming concerts such as Life in Colour to be cancelled and there were worries that it would be the end of raves in the country.
It also spurred FMFA to move to Singapore and hold parties on a cruise ship, marketed as It’s The Ship (international waters, yo).
Based on FMFA’s Instagram, it hasn’t been updated since 2017 while It’s The Ship is still going strong.
The TLDR from all this is: Remember to stay hydrated and don’t do drugs.
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