Yeoh warned athletes they are fully responsible for substances found in their programme during doping control tests.

"For us, we practise strict liability, so athletes have to be responsible," she said, as reported by the New Straits Times.

"They cannot say that they are not aware of what they ate or drank and try to use that as an excuse.

"This is why we have to continuously conduct our awareness programmes, so that they truly understand this.

"Sometimes there are athletes who are afraid to say no when their coaches give them a substance and they might think it is okay to consume it.

"But at the end of the day, it comes back to strict liability, which they may not fully understand."

The Minister promised to "ramp up" awareness programmes before the start of Hangzhou 2022 on September 23.

Her comments came at a Safe Sport Code signing ceremony in Putrajaya.

Hangzhou 2022 was delayed by one year to new dates of September 23 to October 9 because of strict COVID-19 measures in place in China.

A total of 483 medal events in 40 sports representing 61 disciplines are due to be held, with more than 10,000 athletes expected to participate.

Concerns have been raised over the size of the multi-sport event, with the Olympic Council of Asia last year revealing plans to reduce its scale.

Hangzhou 2022 is set to mark the third time China has held the Asian Games.

Malaysia won seven golds, 13 silvers and 16 bronzes at Jakarta-Palembang 2018, and is 13th on the all-time medals table.