Families welcome Laos warning after ‘kick in the guts’ over methanol poisoning charges
Families of two Melbourne teens killed in the Laos backpackers methanol poisoning incident have welcomed the Australian government’s travel warning after low-level charges were laid.
A Laos distillery owner was charged over the mass methanol poisoning, which killed six people, including Bianca Jones and Holly Morton-Bowles, both 19.
Jones and Morton-Bowles were among six people who died after drinking methanol-tainted alcohol they were served at a bar in the backpacker hotspot Vang Vieng in November 2024. 9News
The charges were announced yesterday at a ministry building in Laos, where Australian-marked vehicles were present, but international media were barred from entering.
The accused will face a minimum prison sentence of three months, or up to four years and a fine, if found guilty.
However, the Australian families have been told the maximum penalty could amount to just a year in jail or a fine equivalent to about $1600.
“When a government says to you that the death of your daughter is going to be worth less than a year in jail potentially and $1600, that’s a pretty big kick in the guts,” Bianca’s dad Mark Jones told 9News.
“It’s still significantly under what we think would be reasonable justice, but four years, as opposed to one year, is an improvement.”
The charges laid allegedly include the sale of food products harmful to health as well as operating an illegal business.
Jones and Morton-Bowles were among six people who died after drinking methanol-tainted alcohol they were served at a bar in the backpacker hotspot Vang Vieng in November 2024.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong says the government is bitterly disappointed authorities in Laos are not pursuing the most serious charges. 9News
The victims had all been staying at the same accommodation, the Nana Backpacker Hostel.
Murder or manslaughter charges are not expected to be laid.
Along with the Melbourne girls, four other people, including two Danish women, a US man, and a UK woman, died in the same event.
The families of the two Danish tourists are carrying the same grief, with one mother telling local media she is deeply disappointed this was allowed to happen.
Denmark’s foreign ministry officials said in a statement that charges can still be brought for a more serious offence, such as negligent homicide, if proof is sufficient.
It did not say if the charges were related to all the deaths.
Officials confirmed the case will remain open for 15 years to allow serious charges to be brought forward, if needed.
The updates come as the father of Holly Morton-Bowles said people will “think twice” about travelling to Laos following news that authorities will only charge those responsible for serving the drinks with minor offences.
The government has been urged to intervene. Supplied
“A lot of people will definitely think twice about going to Laos and as they should, because they’ve demonstrated the way that they act and as I say, the value that they put on tourists’ lives over there,” Shaun Bowles said.
He said he’d received conflicting stories about what the investigation would result in over the years, but he was disappointed that a potential 10-year sentence for breaching food safety standards had seemingly been taken off the table.
“And the way they’ve tried to cover this up.”
“We’re really just trying to process the whole thing, to be perfectly honest,” he said.
“There’s no words really, to describe how devastating it is.”
Smartraveller has since advised people heading to the Southeast Asian nation to exercise a high degree of caution.
“Due to crime, the risk of methanol poisoning and ongoing concerns around lack of transparency in the justice system,” the warning stated.
Australian families were told the maximum sentence would equal either a year in jail or fines of around $1600. 9News
“The Lao legal system may not provide transparency or justice, particularly in criminal cases.
“Authorities may apply the law inconsistently. Several foreign nationals, including Australians, died of methanol poisoning through consuming alcoholic drinks in 2024,” the government site said in a statement.
“To now have that pre-warning in relation to the methanol, in relation to the justice system and the governance over there, is a great step,” Jones said.
Adding: “The governance over there, they don’t seem to care about human life over there, certainly not tourists”.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong stated the government is bitterly disappointed that Laotian authorities are not pursuing more severe charges.
Minister Wong confirmed she will take the matter up directly with her Laotian counterpart when they meet face-to-face in the Philippines next week.
Several staff members at the Nana Backpacker Hostel were previously charged with evidence tampering in relation to one of the deaths and handed fines and suspended sentences.
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