There will be no action against the person who gave tainted pills to national badminton player Lee Chong Wei.

This is because the incident was merely an accident, said Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar when asked at a press conference this morning.

 

“The person did not intentionally gave him dexamethasone. It was determined that the particular batch given to him was contaminated with dexamethasone.

 

“He has taken cordyceps from that same particular source for many, many years and he has been tested many, many times through those seven years (and passed).

 

“This time around, I think when they were grinding the cordyceps, it got contaminated. As far as we are concerned, it was an accident,” he said.

 

Khairy ( right ) explained that the tools used to grind the cordyceps for Lee may have been tainted and not properly cleaned.

 

Cordyceps is a fungus that is used in traditional Chinese medicine as a tonic, while dexamethasone is a prescription drug normally used to treat inflammation.

 

The latter does not enhance sports performance and is allowed in the off-season, but it is on the banned list in competition anti-doping tests.

 

Lee was found guilty of having dexamethasone in his body during Badminton World Federation (BWF) world championships in Copenhagen last August, and was handed a backdated eight-month ban that ends tomorrow.

 

The BWF report on Lee’s case raised eyebrows, however, when it indicated that the tainted cordyceps pills came from the wife of a “very influential man ” .

The report did not name the person, and speculation was rife on her identity.

 

Thus far, Lee has denied that it was the prime minister’s wife Rosmah Mansor ( left ) but declined to reveal her identity, while the wife of former MCA president Ling Liong Sik, Ong Ee Nah , also denied that the pills came from her.

 

Meanwhile, Khairy said he knows the where the pills came from, but said he would respect Lee’s request not to reveal it.

 

“It doesn’t change anything anyway,” he asserted.