Bartender in Vietnam arrested over tourist couple's deaths linked to tainted alcohol
A bartender was arrested in Vietnam on Friday for making toxic liquor that led to the death of a British and South African couple in January, state media said.
The bodies of the couple were found at a resort villa in the central city of Hoi An on December 26, without any signs of physical trauma, violence or a break-in.
According to the BBC, British citizen Greta Marie Otteson, 33, was discovered by staff dead on a bed in a first-floor room and her fiance, Els Arno Quinton, 36, was found dead on a bed in another room in the villa that had reportedly been locked from the inside.
Police in Hoi An arrested 46-year-old bartender Le Tan Gia on Friday, police said in a statement on social media.
Officers concluded Gia had used 70-percent medical alcohol, mixing it with water, lemonade and sugar to make limoncello on December 24, police said in the statement.
"After taking the drinks, the two suffered serious methanol poisoning, leading to their death," the police statement said.
Police confiscated several used alcohol bottles at the crime scene in January.
The Quang Nam Public Security Department released a photo of an officer reading the arrest warrant against Gia, the bartender.
The case is still under investigation.
Otteson was a social media manager, and Quinton was a musician, the BBC reported, and a video announcing their engagement was posted on YouTube by videography company Red Eye Studios in December.
A spokesperson for the U.K. Foreign Office said in a statement last month: "We are supporting the family of a British woman who has died in Vietnam and are in contact with the local authorities."
The case came after six tourists died of suspected methanol poisoning after a night out in the Laos backpacker hotspot of Vang Vieng.
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