BREAKING NEWS British lawyer latest to fall in Laos alcohol poisoning tragedy

[GammaGlobulin]

5 hours ago, Tropicalevo said:

Apparently, this all kicked off around November 10th.

The first victims fell ill shortly after that with the Aussie girls being hospitalised on the 13th.

Not sure when the Danes passed away (they were the first), but is seems that the Laos police did nothing to investigate this until it was raised at government level earlier this week.

Makes the Thai police almost look proactive.

RIP youngsters. So sad.

 

There is a video of one of the girls riding on the back of a motorbike...being taken to the hospital..at about 1AM, on the 13th.

 

At that time, she was able to sit up by herself on the back of the bike.

 

[MarkyM3]

Read that Holly Bowles has also died now 😞

 

 

[smew]

hell on earth for the parents... profits over health and safety 

[Dart12]

Ummmm.  Looks more like a serial killer situation than bad batch of alcohol being served.

 

unless this drug only affects beautiful , fit white women in their 20s of a certain shape and size.

 

and usually this kind of demented person  is a white man as well through history.

 

hope they find him. 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

Just now, MarkyM3 said:

Read that Holly Bowles has also died now 😞

 

 

This is awful - I really hope the whole 'bootlegging' industry is brought to its knees over this... 

 

Those responsible need to be hung drawn and quartered...     I wouldn't even know where to start, but fear the families of these poor young people will never see justice - so very sad.

 

 

I have a niece travelling soon..   there is so much I have to warn her not to do in South East Asia....  

 

[richard_smith237]

Just now, Dart12 said:

Ummmm.  Looks more like a serial killer situation than bad batch of alcohol being served.

 

unless this drug only affects beautiful , fit white women in their 20s of a certain shape and size.

 

and usually this kind of demented person  is a white man as well through history.

 

hope they find him. 

 

An American Male has also died... 

[Tropicalevo]

14 minutes ago, MarkyM3 said:

Read that Holly Bowles has also died now 😞

 

 

Family agreed to switch off the life support.

There were no alternatives.

[MarkyM3]

So sad. This tragedy will hopefully ensure travellers, young or otherwise, think twice before drinking spirits from street bars etc. in SE Asia. Has made all the news here in the UK and will have in the other countries/regions affected by this.

 

Wouldn't touch anything except Beer Lao in that country. As others have pointed out, it's a corrupt place. Friend of mine got shaken down by the military at a rail station when travelling there not that long back and was forced to pay the guys $100 USD and had 2 bottles of Beer Lao in their bag confiscated. 

[Johno57]

I have heard this happening several times & recently in northern Thailand.. time for the PM to stand up & show some authority in stopping this in thailand also, (not real good for tourism either) but alas it will all be forgotten in a few months & some bars will continue the sale of this cheap substitute..

[steven100]

19 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Thats the 'only' place you have ever drank spirits at in South East Asia...   Hmm...   

 

.... Smells rather faecal...         

 

You've stated your claim... why not double down with BS to save face... 

 

-----------

 

And, the primary point is... Its very normal for people to order spirits in a bar...  its not quite the breach of 'common sense' you suggest....

... Monday morning quarterbacking this news and laying the blame at the feet of the deceased for not exercising common sense is rather poor form.

 

I'm trying to analyze what your trying to say or convey  ....

 

As for me,  no I don't drink from buckets at full moon parties or some bush drink offered by some incoherent thai.    I do only drink and have only drunk at bars or clubs which have so far not served tainted alcohol. 

 

I guess I'm not your risk taker and as such don't breach common sense when it comes to drinking in Asia.

sorry to disappoint you ... 

 

 

very sad for these people.

rip.  

 

 

[richard_smith237]

1 minute ago, steven100 said:

 

I'm trying to analyze what your trying to say or convey  ....

 

As for me,  no I don't drink from buckets at full moon parties or some bush drink offered by some incoherent thai.    I do only drink and have only drunk at bars or clubs which have so far not served tainted alcohol. 

 

My point: Its impossible to know...    I've been to plenty of bars in Bangkok, regular Bars (i.e. Sports bars) and found that the Whisky is not genuine... 

 

I've complained about this in the past:  (even in another thread - below).

https://aseannow.com/topic/942918-fake-liquor/

 

 

1 minute ago, steven100 said:

I guess I'm not your risk taker and as such don't breach common sense when it comes to drinking in Asia.

sorry to disappoint you ... 

 

I think the statement that you only ever drink in bars where you know the spirits are genuine is a bit of a stretch.... actually, I think its a ridiculous claim....   

 

1 minute ago, steven100 said:

very sad for these people.

rip.  

 

Agree - so very tragic...  Even without you accusing the deceased of not exercising common sense. 

 

Its kind of like suggesting people who are in a Bus accident in Thailand of not exercising common sense because the bus they were on crashed...   

 

... These deaths are not their fault...  

 

[freedomnow]

7 hours ago, smedly said:

I hope those responsible are held to account, this is a very alarming situation, I think I'll give Laos a miss

Luang Prabang is fine ....VV townsfolk are quite rough and LP townsfolk are not. They are quite contrasting towns..some hate LP as a 'toy town' and apart from all the signage being gold letters on wood plaques that is the only visibily odd thing about the town.

Edited 12 hours ago by freedomnow

[MarkyM3]

6 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

My point: Its impossible to know...    I've been to plenty of bars in Bangkok, regular Bars (i.e. Sports bars) and found that the Whisky is not genuine... 

 

I've complained about this in the past:  (even in another thread - below).

https://aseannow.com/topic/942918-fake-liquor/

 

 

 

I think the statement that you only ever drink in bars where you know the spirits are genuine is a bit of a stretch.... actually, I think its a ridiculous claim....   

 

 

Agree - so very tragic...  Even without you accusing the deceased of not exercising common sense. 

 

Its kind of like suggesting people who are in a Bus accident in Thailand of not exercising common sense because the bus they were on crashed...   

 

... These deaths are not their fault...  

 

You'd think somewhere like Bangkok would be "OK" but I'd probably only trust Sang Som now since it's probably pointless trying to bootleg that given it's low cost to begin with. That or cocktails from upmarket establishments i.e. hotels, skybars etc.

 

I drank spirits /cocktails many times in the past from regular bars when on a big night out but I'll be revising my behaviour in light of this incident.

 

This incident is going to have some ramifications, at least short-term, for businesses across the region imo. 

Edited 12 hours ago by MarkyM3

[steven100]

39 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

I have a niece travelling soon..   there is so much I have to warn her not to do in South East Asia....  

 

very wise,   but will an A4 page be big enough .... I don't think so.

[richard_smith237]

8 minutes ago, MarkyM3 said:

You'd think somewhere like Bangkok would be "OK" but I'd probably only trust Sang Som now since it's probably pointless trying to bootleg that given it's low cost to begin with. That or cocktails from upmarket establishments i.e. hotels, skybars etc.

 

I drank spirits /cocktails many times in the past from regular bars when on a big night out but I'll be revising my behaviour in light of this incident.

 

This incident is going to have some ramifications, at least short-term, for businesses across the region imo. 

 

Indeed...  the issue with cocktails is we can't tell.

When I'm drinking Whisky its surprising how prevalent the fake liquor is.

 

 

 

[candide]

1 hour ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Indeed...  the issue with cocktails is we can't tell.

When I'm drinking Whisky its surprising how prevalent the fake liquor is.

 

 

 

I must be lucky. I drink my Whisky straight without ice and never noticed it.

It's obvious that It's easy to mix cheap alcohol instead of the original one in cocktails.

What I have noticed is the <deleted>ty tequila they use for LDs. I always joke that it's tequila Isaan! 😃

[robz]

9 hours ago, TofuHead said:

How come most of the victims are female?  Are men more resistant to methanol?

 

Because men are the more heavy drinkers and ethanol is the antidot to methanol. Ethanol is used in the beginning of the poisoning as therapy in the hospitals (wiki). Means when you get one shot methanol and you drink a lot of methanol-free alcohol after, your chance is maybe better to survive than without.

[sherwood]

10 hours ago, ChipButty said:

I'm just glad this didn't happen in Thailand, 

I'm just glad it didn't happen to me.

[DogNo1]

It might just have been due to a mistake. In Sathorn, 1 liter tins of methanol are sold as alcohol.  The tin has no labeling specifying what type of alcohol it is.  Two years ago, I spent five days in the hospital after being poisoned when using the methanol for cleaning.  Fortunately, I recovered.

[Nick Carter icp]

3 minutes ago, sherwood said:

I'm just glad it didn't happen to me.

 

   You're in a very big group of people there .

I doubt that there would be many people hoping that it happened to them 

[sherwood]

4 hours ago, Dart12 said:

Ummmm.  Looks more like a serial killer situation than bad batch of alcohol being served.

 

unless this drug only affects beautiful , fit white women in their 20s of a certain shape and size.

 

and usually this kind of demented person  is a white man as well through history.

 

hope they find him. 

 

 

Nah, Islamists for sure.

 

 

[Merrill]

People have short memories what happened on death island and the many that came after Hannah and David Miller. They still promote that today.

[Neeranam]

13 hours ago, ChipButty said:

I'm just glad this didn't happen in Thailand, 

Why

[Martin Brit]

14 hours ago, Zack61 said:

I think they are more likely to indulge in Beer Lao whilst the women would be more likely go for the cocktail type drinks which are made with these bootleg spirits. 
 

You see boys drinking jugs of fluresent liquid with a two foot straw sticking out. Sweet toothes they can't hack a beer. Funnily there was a generation that shunned tea & coffee & drank only water & coke but now coffee has become trendy............

[Martin Brit]

15 hours ago, Tropicalevo said:

Apparently, this all kicked off around November 10th.

The first victims fell ill shortly after that with the Aussie girls being hospitalised on the 13th.

Not sure when the Danes passed away (they were the first), but is seems that the Laos police did nothing to investigate this until it was raised at government level earlier this week.

Makes the Thai police almost look proactive.

RIP youngsters. So sad.

Sky news description tonight was "Adventurous backpacker's" there not they are herded line sheep following the party trail. Full instructions in lonely planet. The perpetrators are just waiting for them. I visited Ao Nang recently. Left because it was full of said backpackers. Same in Pai, I noted food and drink was all premium prices and the cost of a Macidees was off the clock. Double the UK price! They are taken for mugs as far as can see 

[Thechook]

And the 2nd Australian girl has just passed away in BKK hospital 

[GoodieAfterDark]

15 hours ago, RayOday said:

Laotians for the most part are gentle and friendly people. The police and government officials are world class 3rd world corrupt. Add significant  power of truly soulless, and hugely wealthy, Chinese triads and things can go horribly wrong. Laos's Special Economic Zone in the Golden Triangle is evidence that Chinese triads buy refuge to commit transnational crimes. I have had no problem visiting Luang Prabong but have been shaken down by customs officials every time I transit through Vientiane (Kunming-BKK). I skip that routing now even if the travel time is longer. Laos is on a downward spiral. Traveller beware

Golden Triangle. Th French using the Hmong to grow poppies. The Americans took over the business, the drug business from the French. Then in the 1970's the Israeli's Mossad, contacted the poppy growers in Thailand to "help" them to grow coffee instead. What a good cover! I am not a big fan of the Chinese, but need to remember the Sasson family and the Opium wars. 

[dirtybirty]

Look back in history laos was part of Siam ect ect, this stuff happens all over Asia esp s.e Asia but hush hush can't hurt tourism. Wish Thailand would publish true traffic accident death rates and  rapes ECT that happen due to the miss understanding of the way things work in these parts

Edited 2 hours ago by dirtybirty

[RT555]

Thats why I always drank an unpopped bottle or can of beer in these remote places...Cambodia, Vietnam, Burma..Thai...etc

[ukrules]

10 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

I think the statement that you only ever drink in bars where you know the spirits are genuine is a bit of a stretch.... actually, I think its a ridiculous claim.... 

 

Indeed, I once drank some 'Johnny Walker Black' with Coke which made me a bit ill, can't remember exactly what happened as this was a long time back and I've been ill on a few occasions, it was maybe 8 or 9 years ago.

Anyway I complained about it to the owner of the bar and she said something along the lines of 'that's the last time I buy whisky from the police'.