They were warded at the Penang Hospital today after drinking white coffee which left them suffering from dizziness and vomiting.
Northeast district police chief ACP Anuar Omar said the men had consumed the coffee given by their Bangladeshi colleague and started showing the symptoms.
“The victims fixed and drank the white coffee at 2.30pm today, after they received the sachets from the Bangladeshi man last Thursday.
“The duo felt dizzy and vomited 10 minutes later before they were taken to the hospital.
“The Bangladeshi said he found two (large) packs of the coffee in a trash bin.
“He took one pack and gave the other to the victims,” he said here.
Anuar said initial investigations revealed that coffee was from the same brand consumed by five individuals who were reported to have experienced extreme fatigue and weakness after drinking a certain type of pre-mixed coffee, but with different flavour.
The police had asked the supervisor of the garbage truck company to inform the foreigner to hand over the other coffee pack for immediate analysis, he said.
Prior to this, three men and two women were treated at the hospital after experiencing extreme fatigue and weakness while a few also fainted after allegedly drinking coffee between Sunday and Tuesday.
The five, aged 19 to 62, were warded for observation and tests. Three have since been discharged.
Health Minister Dr S Subramaniam had earlier warned the people against accepting coffee drinks offered by strangers as they could have been laced with drugs.
He said this could be the work of a syndicate.