Australia demands answers from Laos over methanol poisoning ‘injustice’

Australia has summoned the Laotian ambassador to protest against what a victim’s family described as an “absolute injustice” after 10 people linked to a deadly methanol poisoning case received suspended sentences and fines equivalent to US$130.The case stems from a fatal incident in the riverside town of Vang Vieng, a popular tourist destination in Laos, in November 2024.Melbourne teenagers Bianca Jones and Holly Morton-Bowles, both 19, died after drinking methanol-tainted alcohol at Nana Backpackers Hostel. Two Danish women, a US tourist and a British woman, also died.In January, a court in Laos found 10 workers at the hostel guilty of destroying evidence, handing down suspended sentences and nominal fines. The convictions were reportedly tied to the death of the American victim, with no one charged in connection with the other deaths.A motorcyclist passes the Nana Backpackers Hostel in Vang Vieng, Laos, in November 2024. Photo: AFPThe outcome triggered anger in Australia after the families of Jones and Bowles revealed they had learned of the hearings not from officials in Canberra but through a group chat set up by relatives of British victim Simone White.