Drinking bootleg alcohol, 6 people died in Thailand

Six people died in hospital and 22 others were in critical condition on the morning of August 28 after drinking bootleg alcohol, Bangkok authorities said. The deaths occurred mainly in the Khlong Sam Wa district in northwestern Bangkok, where authorities discovered 19 illegal roadside liquor stalls.

Somwang Chaiprakraiwan, a senior local official in Khlong Sam Wa district, said authorities had cracked down on illegal liquor stores in the area. “Police and the Revenue Department have arrested and detained them,” Somwang said.

Six people have died in Thailand from drinking bootleg alcohol. Photo: iStock

Sharing with ThaiPBS television, one of the drinker's relatives said: "After drinking, my father said the symptoms reminded him of gastroesophageal reflux, and the next thing he remembered was that he was in the intensive care unit."

Thailand is a Buddhist country and has strict alcohol laws, restricting alcohol sales to certain hours of the day and banning sales on religious holidays.

However, people still produce cheap alcohol in unregulated, illegal distilleries, known locally as “Ya Dong.” The bootleg alcohol is often mixed with methanol to increase its strength. If consumed, methanol can cause blindness, liver damage, and death.

Ngoc Anh (according to AFP)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/uong-ruou-lau-6-nguoi-tu-vong-va-nhieu-nguoi-nguy-kich-o-thai-lan-post309647.html