Laos backpacker families slam cops as ‘appalling' charges finally laid over tourists killed in alcohol poisoning

The Sun

19-05-2025

THE families of two Aussie girls who died from suspected methanol poisoning during a trip to Laos have slammed the cops over "appalling" charges.
Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles, both 19, were among the six tourists who died after drinking methanol-laced vodka shots at the party hub.
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The teens, from Melbourne, stayed at the Nana Backpacker hostel where they were offered welcome drinks thought to be spiked with the poisonous substance.
The alarm was raised by staff after the teens failed to check out from their rooms during a morning in November last year.
Bianca and Holly were rushed to separate hospitals in Bangkok, Thailand, as their families travelled to be with them.
However, both of them tragically died just days after the shocking incident.
Brit lawyer Simone White, 28, and four other foreigners also died due to methanol poisoning.
All of them were staying at the hostel along with 100 more guests.
Six months after the tragedy, their families have now been told that at least 13 people linked to the case may finally be charged.
They have been accused of violating food and health security, unlawful business operations and the elimination of evidence, according to the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs.
But the families of Bianca and Holly have slammed the charges for being too weak.
Holly's mother told 60 Minutes: "[The charges are] pretty appalling, I'd say pretty insulting.'
I survived Laos alcohol poisoning that killed my pal Simone White & 5 others - I felt paralysed after drinking six shots
Bianca's furious mum added: 'I think we're pretty furious about it … Food and beverage. You know, that's like? What is that? We don't even know.
'We know there's no murder or manslaughter charges, which we feel there should be.'
Both mums said that those allegedly involved would only get a "slap on the wrist" under these charges if found guilty.
Aussie officials previously revealed that Laso had rejected offers by Australiad feds to support the investigations into the traffic deaths
Their families said in a statement: "They said: "As the Laos government rejects any support from the AFP, our confidence in accountability and justice for everyone affected remains unanswered."
They also slammed the Laos government, claiming authorities "don't care" and that the lives of their daughters meant "nothing".
Simone's pal Bethany Clarke - who also fell sick - was the first to raise the alarm on the Laos Backpacking Facebook group.
She wrote: 'Urgent — please avoid all local spirits. Our group stayed in Vang Vieng and we drank free shots offered by one of the bars.
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"Just avoid them as so not worth it. Six of us who drank from the same place are in the hospital currently with methanol poisoning.'
Bethany added that she was 'very fatigued and then fainted, then just felt nauseous and then my liver started to shut down'.
Danish friends Anne-Sofie Orkild Coyman, 20, and Freja Vennervald, 21, died after they were left vomiting blood for 13 hours.
American man James Louis Hutson, 57, also died.
In the wake of the tragic incident, Thai cops detained several people, including the hostel manager and the owner. All of them deny any wrongdoing.
No charges have been laid for the six deaths, and the hostel has been closed.
The hostel manager, Duong Duc Toan, and a bartender, Toan Van Vanng, previously denied allegations that methanol was in drinks.
Toan said he bought the alcohol from a licensed seller and said the free shots were given to 100 people.
The hostel manager claimed other guests had not reported being ill and he took a shot in front of cops.
One pal claimed staff refused to call an ambulance and a female worker massaged the toes and feet of one of the Danish women while she was having a seizure.
Why is methanol so deadly?
By Sam Blanchard, Health Correspondent
METHANOL is a super-toxic version of alcohol that may be present in drinks if added by crooks to make them stronger or if they are brewed or distilled badly.
The consequences can be devastating because as little as a single shot of contaminated booze could be deadly, with just 4ml of methanol potentially enough to cause blindness.
Prof Oliver Jones, a chemist at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, said: 'The body converts methanol to formic acid.
'Formic acid blocks the action of an enzyme that is critical to how the body uses oxygen to generate energy.
'If it stops working, cells cannot take up or use oxygen from the blood and lack of oxygen causes problems in a range of organs as the cells start to die.
'Symptoms of methanol poisoning include vomiting, seizures and dizziness.
'The optic nerve seems to be particularly vulnerable to methanol toxicity, so there is the potential for temporary or permanent blindness, and even death.
'While thankfully rare, methanol poisoning is very serious, and treatment should be given at a hospital.'
An unexpected but key way of treating methanol poisoning is to get the patient drunk with normal alcohol - known as ethanol - to distract the liver and stop it processing the methanol.