THE makeshift table in a dark alley off Desker Road in Little India looked deserted.

On it were many "sex aids" - from colourful little boxes of pills called "Tahan Lama" ("last long" in Malay) to sex toys.

Then, less than a minute later, a voice from the shadows startled me: "Brother, what do you want?"

I wanted to know if I could still get my hands on the infamous Power 1 Walnut pill, which is touted to improve male sexual prowess but has caused two deaths so far.

Stepping out of the shadows, the stall owner said in Malay: "All also have. Power 1, Cialis, Viagra. If you buy more than one (pill), I give you discount. Just tell me what you need."

This was just one example of how easy it is still to get hold of illegal sex drugs despite the recent crackdown by the authorities.

In less than six hours, I managed to buy four different kinds of sex pills "off the shelves" at various locations in Singapore.

DESKER ROAD

The stall owner came across as a little comical in his persistence to sell me his goods.

I stalled, telling him I was looking to buy from my regular "uncle" several shophouses away.

The fast-talking man shot back: "Brother, no point, his shop already raided. You can buy from me because it's all the same. We all work under one boss. Better buy fast because I'm going to close."

I asked to see the controversial Power 1 Walnut.

He immediately unlocked a metal door behind him and retrieved strips of Power 1 Walnut pills tied with rubber band.
He said: "The boxes on the table are all empty. It's just for show. In case of a raid, I can just walk away."

He took out a strip of four pink-coloured pills and said it cost $7.

I looked at the pills and asked: "Original or not?"

He said: "Of course lah, they are original and made in China."

Before I left, I asked for some "instructions", concerned at news of users falling ill after taking the Power 1 Walnut pills.

He said: "Yes, I heard about those stories. One pill is too powerful. Those old men took too much. Half a pill should be more than enough."

Later, under a street lamp, I examined the pills and wondered why the imprint on the back said Power 1 Singapore when they were supposed to be from China.

PETAIN ROAD

Five minutes' drive from Desker Road, I found myself at Petain Road, also known as Kim Chio Kah (Hokkien for banana legs, apparently because it?s where women with slim legs can be found).

The fly-by-night stalls were similar to those in Desker Road.

I bought blue, diamond-shaped "Viagra" pills for $6 each.

Based on a previous report I had done, I knew the Viagra pills sold there were likely fake, even if they looked like the real deal.

Viagra pills can be prescribed only by a doctor and it is an offence to sell them over the counter.
At the corner of my eye, I also spotted strips of Power 1 Walnut and Cialis pills.

JOO CHIAT COMPLEX

At Joo Chiat Complex in Geylang Serai, you can walk into some of the many jamu (traditional Indonesian herbal supplement) shops and ask for sexual potency pills.

I asked about Power 1 Walnut in two shops and was recommended the Indonesian version - Seki and Urat Madu.

For $5, you can get two pills of either brand.

Both are banned by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) because they contain sildenafil, an ingredient in Viagra that can be harmful to heart patients.

The pills were not displayed openly.

At one shop, they were stashed in a soccer-boots bag.

The seller said: "I can't sell you one pill, it's too little. If you buy more, I can get them from my supplier immediately."

One man who tried Urat Madu after his 57-year-old friend recommended it said he had regretted it.

Mr M K Singh, 28, said: "I got a headache an hour after I took the pills. I thought it would make sex exciting. But in the end, I didn't do it because of the buzz in my head."

At Geylang Lorong 10, foreign peddlers carrying small bags were approaching groups of older men at coffee shops.

They were selling similar pills named Ubat Kuat ("strong medicine" in Malay) at $15 for two tablets.

PASIR RIS DRIVE 6

I discovered that pills could be bought just as easily here, with no questions asked.

At a park bench near Block 444, a group of youths ran a "hush-hush" stall that sold contraband cigarettes as well as Ubat Kuat at $10 for two pills.

But they sell the pills only to regulars.

One regular is Mr G Low, who claimed that the pills from Indonesia do work.

He also claimed not to have experienced any side effects so far, but then this was also what some Power 1 Walnut users were claiming until some of them landed in hospital.

There have been 35 confirmed cases of such adverse drug reactions in men aged 21 to 97, who have fallen seriously ill after using illegal sex drugs, the HSA said.

There are another 70 suspected cases.

The latest death last week was of a 50-year-old man who was hospitalised in early April. He was in a coma, regained partial consciousness, and developed an infection that killed him.

What make these pills dangerous are lethal doses of an anti-diabetic drug, glibenclamide, which lowers a person's blood-sugar levels.

Too much of it can induce a stroke, coma, seizure, or death.

The glibenclamide levels in these illegal pills are up to five times higher than the maximum dosage for diabetics.

The HSA warns that any product sold in the streets claiming to enhance sexual performance should be considered dangerous.

People are encouraged to call HSA's Compliance Branch at 6866-3485 to report the sale of such products.

Anyone importing, stocking and possessing these items for sale without a licence may be fined up to $10,000 and/or jailed for up to two years.

This article was first published in The New Paper on Apr 29, 2008.