Authorities remain silent over Chinese bra scandal A customer browses for locally made lingerie at a store on Tan Son Nhi Street, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Tuoi Tre A fortnight after the first sets of Chinese bras containing unidentified pills and liquid were found, local consumers have begun boycotting the lingerie, while an official conclusion from authorities on whether or not the unknown drugs are toxic is still pending.   A large-scale inspection has been run on Chinese bras on sale in areas across the country over the last two weeks following several reports from consumers that they have broken out in a rash while wearing the lingerie. Market watchdogs nationwide have seized some products and found that each of them contained two bizarre packs of liquid, each containing three round white pills whose toxicity remains unknown. Consumers have thus become increasingly concerned over what they are wearing; some chose to discard the suspicious lingerie they had been using, and appeared more cautious when choosing new types. “I’ve discarded all of my Chinese bras after reading the news about the unknown drugs,” said Dang Thi Hoai Loc, while browsing for new bras at Hoang Hoa Tham market in Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Binh District. “I don’t know if the pills are harmful or not, but the fact that the bras contain drugs is enough to scare me away,” she shared. Similarly, Ngoc Ha, a District 3 resident, also said she has checked all of her bras to see if any contain the pills and the liquid packs. “No officials have worked to protect consumers. I don’t know what is safe to use,” she said. Customers have turned their backs on bras with the liquid packs inside, small traders in markets across the city said. “We are willing to stop selling the products if authorities officially conclude that they are harmful,” said Bich Hong, a trader at Tan Dinh market. “But there has not been any public announcement, while customers have boycotted the bras. So how can we manage to sell the products?” Continue waiting Dozens of localities have scrutinized and detected the unknown substances inside Chinese bras, but no test results have ever been released on what the chemicals really are. Quality test agencies in Hanoi, Da Nang, and Quang Nam said they have collected the samples but results are still pending. Meanwhile, the HCMC Consumers Protection Association has received numerous queries from local consumers regarding the under-question lingerie, said deputy chairman Ngo Bach Phong. “However, we also have to wait for the final conclusion from the competent agencies,” he said. Tuoitrenews