If you're a fan of seafood, you need to heed this warning.

The deadly pufferfish is now reportedly being sold in wet markets in Malaysia, according to a report by The Star Online.

The fish, also popularly known as fugu, is reportedly being widely sold to consumers in Kedah, Perak and Penang for up to RM20 per kg.

Not only that; seafood restaurants have reportedly been found buying and selling the fugu under the guise of "crystal fish".

The crystal fish, according to the online portal, is reportedly being used as a cheaper subsitute for costlier fish meat.

The Star Online also reported that foreign workers, who have little to no experience in handling the fish, were reportedly hired to slice and prepare the pufferfish for consumption.

Umm, that's not a good thing, considering that it usually takes a professional chef years and years of practice to master the art of preparing a pufferfish dish.

Currently, there is only one chef in Kuala Lumpur who is certified to prepare pufferfish: Chef Tetsuya Yanagida, the executive Japanese chef of Tatsu InterContinental Kuala Lumpur.

If your pufferfish is prepared by Ah Wong from Setapak, you know something fishy is going on.

Meanwhile, the Health Ministry is reportedly working on a law to ban the sale of pufferfish in Malaysia.

Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah told The Star Online in a seperate report that the ammendments to the Food Act 1983 will ensure that the sale, import and advertisement of the fish is illegal in the country, unless it is made safe first by “qualified persons”.

According to Dr Noor Hisham, the new law was being finalised for gazettement.

One of Japan's most celebrated and notorious local delicacies, the fugu fish's tetrodotoxin is so dangerous, just 25mg of the toxin is enough to kill a healthy human being in a few hours. One pufferfish contains enough toxin to kill 30 adults.

The toxin, usually found in the fish's inner organs such as liver and ovaries, is reportedly 1,200 times stronger than cyanide - and there is currently no known antidote.

In fact, according to the Tokyo Bureau of Social Welfare and Public Health, up to six people lose their lives a year due to tetrodotoxin poisoning.

Because of that, chefs in Japan have to undergo rigorous training for two to three years before they are even allowed to prepare the fish. According to a report, only 35 per cent of the applicants pass the licensing examination process.

So, the next time you see a dish called crystal fish at your favourite seafood restaurant, just run.