The water you buy from vending machines in Malaysia may not be as clean as you think.

Twenty-nine samples of water were drawn from such machines throughout the Klang Valley – and almost all were contaminated.

There were harmful E. coli, Coliform and Clostridium perfringens microbes – the same kind of bacteria found in untreated sewage.

Coliform and Clostridium perfringens are also the same bacteria found in human and animal faeces.

These bacteria can cause cramps, diarrhoea and other gastrointestinal problems.

The Star conducted the tests together with Forum Air Malaysia, an organisation formed to assist the National Water Services Commission.