Kampot police have arrested a couple, rice wine producers after nine villagers reportedly died from suspected methanol-laced wine, with more than 30 people being hospitalised in Kampong Trach district.

 

Provincial police chief Major General Mao Chanthurith said the police arrested two people for questioning, while the wine sample was tested.

 

He said that the arrest was made because nine villagers died of suspected tainted rice wine they consumed at a funeral in Thnong village, Russei Khang Koeut commune, Kampong Trach district. The provincial health officials are looking into the cause of the deaths.

 

read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50861828/a-couple-arrested-for-the-poisoning-death-of-nine-villagers/

 

Mass murder - put on the back page...

 

Seems like this should be the biggest news in Asia - but poor people, innit?

Edited May 25, 20215 yr by pedro01

41 minutes ago, pedro01 said:

Mass murder - put on the back page...

 

Seems like this should be the biggest news in Asia - but poor people, innit?

Not so sure its mass murder, its just that people want cheap alcohol. Sometimes that means bad production methods. The drug alcohol is not without dangers. Murder implies intent, i think that is not the case here. Either greed or negligence. 

8 hours ago, robblok said:

Not so sure its mass murder, its just that people want cheap alcohol. Sometimes that means bad production methods. The drug alcohol is not without dangers. Murder implies intent, i think that is not the case here. Either greed or negligence. 

The article suggests methanol was added. Lethal!

9 hours ago, pedro01 said:

Mass murder - put on the back page...

 

Seems like this should be the biggest news in Asia - but poor people, innit?

I was going to say, "At last, a real news story!"

Same thing happened in Europe a few years ago wine (I think it was German) was laced with methanol caused blindness and death

Common treatment for methanol  poisoning is administration of ethynol alcohol!

Who needs to drink antifreeze here ????Rip

Methanol can be inadvertently produced in traditional fermenting processes, though not perhaps to this extent.  Kind of scary:  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5028366/

 

Distilled beverages can avoid most of it if the methanol is distilled off before the ethanol.  Better living through chemistry? 

Edited May 25, 20215 yr by Damrongsak

11 hours ago, RobU said:

Same thing happened in Europe a few years ago wine (I think it was German) was laced with methanol caused blindness and death

this was a big story last year in Cancun Mexico I believe, they were doing the same thing there selling tainted alcohol to bars and several cases of deaths reported as a result..

Very interesting reading, this entry on Wikipedia about methanol toxicity

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methanol_toxicity

 

Fascinating to see the human brain work out causes and effects of nature's most intricate chemical mechanisms and to devise solutions to arrest those effects. 

12 hours ago, RobU said:

Same thing happened in Europe a few years ago wine (I think it was German) was laced with methanol caused blindness and death

Austria

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985_diethylene_glycol_wine_scandal#:~:text=The 1985 diethylene glycol wine,bodied in the style of