ALOR SETAR, May 15 — Over 40 Institut Al Quran Darul Aman (IQDAR) tahfiz students here were down with food poisoning last night, believed to be due to a rice dish served after the tarawih prayers.

IQDAR deputy director Muhammad Yusni Yaakob said the students, aged between 18 and 21 years old had symptoms of food poisoning at about 8am today that some had to miss classes.

“About 10 to 15 students who were badly affected were sent to the Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital for further treatment, while 36 others were treated by a medical team who came to the centre.

“A restaurant which donated the 150 packets of the Arab rice dish served with chicken and mutton curry delivered them at 11pm. Most students who ate the rice for sahur (pre-dawn meal) experienced more serious symptoms than those who ate them during ‘moreh’,” he told reporters when met here today.

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Muhammad Yusni, however, said the centre was only aware of the food donation after the students complained of vomiting and diarrhoea.

“We were not informed about the food donation. After this incident, parties wishing to donate food will have to follow certain procedures to ensure no recurrence of such incident,” he added.

Meanwhile, Tahfiz Al-Quran Wal Qiraat diploma student, Muhammad Afham Anuwar, 20 said he began to have stomach cramps during sahur after eating the rice at 2am.

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“When I ate the rice, it looked and smelt alright. During classes I started having diarrhoea and immediately informed my lecturer. Subsequently I came to know many of my friends had the same symptoms,” he said. — Bernama