Australia urges action over fatal cocktails
The Australian government will ask Indonesia to crack down on the illicit drinks market in tourist areas following the death of an Australian teenager who drank a methanol-laced cocktail on Lombok.
Liam Davies, 19, died on Sunday after being poisoned during New Year’s celebrations at a bar on the resort island.
A number of cases of methanol poisoning have previously led to Australian health authorities warning of potential poisoning from drinking the local ”arak” brew.
An 18-year-old Australian school leaver was blinded in Bali last month and in September 2011, a Perth-based rugby player died after consuming arak – which is distilled from rice or palm sap.
Also in 2011, an Australian nurse suffered brain damage and renal failure after drinking a methanol-laced cocktail in Indonesia.
Foreign minister Bob Carr said that Australia’s consul-general in Bali would make representations to the Indonesian authorities, seeking ”more careful policing” and ”better regulation” – especially of the lower end of the illicit drinks market.
Ian Jarrett
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