34 die in Manado after consuming home-made liquor

34 die in Manado after consuming home-made liquor

Yongker Rumthe, The Jakarta Post, Manado

At least 34 people have died and dozens of others are in a
critical condition in the North Sulawesi capital of Manado after
consuming locally brewed liquor, police and hospital officials
have said.

The chief of Manado Police, Adj. Sr. Comr. Yohanes Wardoyo,
said the dead victims had consumed liquor with local brand names
Champion and Pinaracci 234, with an alcohol content of more than
60.4 percent.

He said the 34 deaths were recorded between Nov. 10 and Nov.
27 by his office and that 18 of the victims died in hospitals in
Manado.

Many victims were blinded while others are still in a critical
condition in hospitals in the city, he added.

Deetje Londa, a spokesman for the Malalayang General Hospital
in Manado, confirmed the death toll, and said two people among
those being treated at her clinic had been blinded.

Local health authorities conducted laboratory tests on the two
brands of liquor after receiving reports from locals.

Wa Ode Asnah Ganiu, head of the province's drug and food
supervisory bureau, said that based on the test, the two drinks
made of distilled palm sap contained 66.4 percent methanol.

"According to the required national standard No. 01-3550-1999,
methanol must not exceed 0.1 percent against ethanol," she told
The Jakarta Post.

"Seen from the level of methanol in the two alcoholic drinks,
they were clearly poisonous and should not have been consumed any
longer due to their very high alcohol content."

Asnah said that liquor containing only a 10 percent
concentration of methanol had been known to cause blindness, let
alone those with higher levels.

Wardoyo said on Tuesday that an autopsy on Jemy Limur, one of
the dead victims, found his duodenum and brain swollen.

"It could be deduced that the victims suffered extreme pain
before they died because of the swelling in their duodenum and
brain," he added.

Dr. Satrio Pulukudung from Malalayang hospital confirmed that
the victims underwent terrible clinical phenomena, such as
vomiting, loss of consciousness and eyesight as well as
experiencing high pressure, before dying.

Victims would face these effects two or three days after
drinking the beverages, he said.

"The clinical indications experienced by the victims before
death are very terrible, they could even be more dreadful that
what we know in theory."

Asnah said her office had recommended that people be
prohibited from consuming such poisonous drinks that had been
sold without production and expiry dates stamped on their labels.

"We have issued an official notice calling for a ban of the
distribution of the two alcoholic drinks," she said, adding that
those currently in the markets would be withdrawn immediately.

North Sulawesi Police spokesman Sudarsono, confirmed that his
office in cooperation with related health authorities had closed
the factories producing the liquor located in the subdistricts of
Molas and Maumbi in Manado.