Private Function runQuery(ByVal query As String) As MySqlDataReader

    Dim oConn As MySqlConnection

    ' Connecting with SQL server
    Try
        Dim sConnStr As String = String.Format("Server=" & My.Settings.emsServerHost & ";User=" & My.Settings.emsID & "; Password=" & My.Settings.emsPwd & "; Database=" & My.Settings.emsDB & "; Pooling=false;CharSet=utf8") '
        oConn = New MySqlConnection(sConnStr)
        oConn.Open()
        Dim cmd As MySqlCommand = New MySqlCommand(query, oConn)
        runQuery = cmd.ExecuteReader()
        oConn.Close()
        return runQuery
    Catch ex As Exception
        MsgBox(ex.Message, MsgBoxStyle.OkOnly + MsgBoxStyle.Critical, "Error!")
    End Try
    Return Nothing
End Function