Australia’s government and the families of two Australian teenagers who died of methanol poisoning in Laos have criticized Laos authorities after charges for the distillery owner linked to the deadly drinks were announced on Friday — but which only carry a maximum of 4 years in prison.
Holly Bowles and Bianca Jones, 19, died after they were served tainted alcohol laced with methanol on the Nana Backpacker Hostel in November 2024, a part of a mass poisoning that also killed two Danish women, Anne-Sofie Orkild Coyman, 20, and Freja Vennervald Sorensen, 21; a U.S. tourist, James Louis Hutson, 57; and a British woman, Simone White, 28.
The 2 19-year-old Australian women fell ailing following an evening out drinking with a bunch and failed to ascertain out of the Nana Backpacker Hostel as planned. The ladies were found sick of their room after which taken to Thailand for emergency treatment, where each died in hospital.
Thai authorities confirmed that Jones had died by “brain swelling because of high levels of methanol present in her system.”
Methanol is a transparent, colourless alcohol utilized in every kind of on a regular basis products like industrial cleaners, solvents, paint, cosmetics and anti-freeze. Methanol is toxic and deadly when consumed.
Methanol is typically added to mixed drinks at disreputable bars as a less expensive alternative to ethanol, but it could cause severe poisoning or death. Additionally it is a byproduct of poorly distilled homebrew liquor and will have found its way into bar drinks inadvertently.
A court in Laos brought charges against a distillery owner in reference to the deaths of the tourists on Friday.
The fees will make the accused liable to a jail sentence of between three months and 4 years and a superb if found guilty, Denmark’s Foreign Ministry announced Friday, in keeping with The Associated Press.
The ministry’s statement, issued in Copenhagen and citing Lao authorities, said the costs were selling food that’s harmful to health and operating an illegal business.
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It also said the case will formally remain open for 15 years and charges can still be brought for a more serious offence, equivalent to negligent homicide.
Australia’s government and the families of the Australian teenagers who died held a news conference to announce that the costs were expected to be officially revealed.
Jones’ mother, Michelle, expressed anger over the costs being linked to minor offences.
“It’s like their lives didn’t even matter,” Michelle said. “We’re just really appalled by all of it. You understand, they were just going over to have a little bit of fun and just doing the rite of passage that each child or teenager does. So for that consequence, it was just devastating.”
Shaun Bowles, the daddy of Holly Bowles, also spoke on the news conference and referred to the legal development as “mind-boggling because [Laos] is a preferred tourist destination for a number of travellers, a number of Australian, young Australian travellers and young people from world wide.”
He suggested that tourists reconsider visiting Laos “because they’ve demonstrated, the way in which that they act, and as I say, the worth that they placed on tourists’ lives over there and the way in which they’ve tried to cover this up.”
On Friday, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said she was “deeply frustrated and bitterly dissatisfied” that Laotian authorities weren’t pursuing “probably the most serious charges” in reference to the tourists’ deaths.
“Since their deaths, Australia has advocated for an intensive and transparent investigation that takes into consideration all available evidence and for those responsible to be held to account. We’ve got engaged repeatedly and at the best levels of the Lao Government to support that objective,” Wong wrote within the statement.
Wong and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had dispatched an envoy to Laos on Friday “to convey the Australian Government’s objections and reinforce our expectations for an investigation that delivers justice for Holly, Bianca and the opposite victims of the methanol poisoning,” the minister said.
“The Albanese Government will proceed to advocate for Holly and Bianca’s families with the Lao Government at every level, and can proceed to offer consular assistance for so long as required,” Wong added.
This isn’t the primary time the families of the 2 Melbourne teenagers have spoken out after charges were announced in the continuing case.
In February, it was announced that the hostel staff members who served the deadly drinks received fines of AU$185 (roughly C$176).
The ladies’s fathers, Bowles and Mark Jones, said they were uninformed concerning the court case involving the hostel staff, which took place on the People’s Court of Vang Vieng in Laos.
They were a part of a bunch chat with the families of the victims that provided them with updates and that’s how they learned 10 people connected to the hostel faced a judge in late January.
Those 10 people were fined AU$185 each and given a suspended sentence for destroying evidence, 9News reports.
“We were shocked by absolutely the injustice for our girls and the others,” Jones said. “We’ve got had no correspondence with anyone from the Laos government. We had no idea the court case was going ahead.
“To think that the Laos authorities consider that those that were involved in killing our daughters is price $185 is completely disgraceful.”
The fathers initially thought the court case was linked to the deaths of their daughters, however the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed that the charge for destruction of evidence was linked to the death of the American tourist.
In November 2024, Canada issued a travel advisory after six tourists, mostly aged 19 to twenty, died from methanol poisoning in the favored backpacker town in northern Laos.
“Several foreigners in Vang Vieng have been victims of suspected methanol-adulterated alcohol poisoning,” the warning read. “Be vigilant when you decide to drink alcohol. Avoid accepting free or extremely low-priced drinks. Only buy alcohol in sealed bottles and cans from reputable shops. Seek medical assistance when you begin to feel sick.”
— with files from The Associated Press