RP grounds alleged drug cheat

RP grounds alleged drug cheat

MANILA (AFP): The Philippines has grounded an athlete in its Jakarta-bound Southeast Asian Games contingent for using drugs, an official said yesterday.

The unnamed athlete, identified only as a member of the softball team, tested positive for the banned stimulant metamphetamine hydrochloride, known as "ice" or "shabu," said commissioner Eli Bontigao of the Philippine Sports Commission.

The delegation is waiting for results from a second test, he said in an interview on GMA television here, adding that if the test was positive the athlete "would be taken out from the team completely."

He said Philippine sports officials were investigating reports that a gang sold banned drugs to athletes at their training camp at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex here.

"I'm very concerned about it," Bontigao said. "We will never tolerate this sort of thing."