‘We were forced to donate blood’

A MUCH publicised blood donation drive conducted in conjunction with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jeyalalithaa’s upcoming birthday has been dragged into controversy after some donors claimed they were forced to participate, Makkal Osai reported.

The donation drive was organised by the state transport corporation to commemorate Jeyalalithaa’s 68th birthday.

At least 2,200 bus drivers, conductors and other personnel were brought in to donate blood, and the authorities declared the drive a massive success.

However, some of the workers later claimed they were compelled by corporation officials to donate blood.

Apparently, their managers verbally threatened them with suspensions and transfers if they refused to participate.

The workers claimed that these managers and officials did not donate blood despite telling others to do so, but were trying to get into Jeyalalithaa’s good books by literally draining other people’s blood.

> Found in translation is compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.