KUALA LUMPUR, April 18 — Lazada Malaysia has said today that no abortion pills containing misoprostol are listed for sale on its online shopping platform, following five deaths recently reported.

In a statement, Lazada also said it has taken steps to prevent such products listed on the platform.

"Following the concerns raised by the Minister of Health, Datuk Seri Dzulkefly Ahmad surrounding cases involving products containing misoprostol, Lazada Malaysia has done a sweep of its product base to ensure that there are no listings of misoprostol or related items on the platform.

"Lazada has also taken steps to prevent potential listings or searches for such products,” it said.

Lazada said it is taking the matter seriously and is committed to protecting its customers.

"Should any users come across any related products while shopping, we highly encourage them to report it to our Customer Care team so that we can investigate further,” it added.

Yesterday, Dzulkefly was quoted telling Malay daily Sinar Harian that the pills were bought online through social media or popular shopping websites, including Lazada, Lelong.com and Shoppee.

The four of the deaths were reported in 2015, while the last was reported in 2017.

Dzulkefly said the four deaths were due to heavy bleeding after giving birth, while one other case was caused by amniotic fluid embolism. All of the cases involved the intravaginal insertion of products containing misoprostol.

In addition, 146 websites selling the pills have been identified, and 10 raids have been carried out since 2017 and 17 items worth RM85,513 smuggled in mostly from India and China have been seized.