Key facts
- A distillery owner in Laos faces charges related to the methanol poisoning deaths of six backpackers, including two Australians.
- The charges are selling food that is harmful to health and operating an illegal business, with a potential sentence of three months to four years.
- Australian officials expressed deep frustration and disappointment over the expected lenient charges.
- Australia summoned Laos' ambassador to Canberra to convey objections.
- The case remains open for 15 years, with the possibility of more serious charges if sufficient proof emerges.
A court in Laos has announced charges against the owner of a distillery linked to the methanol poisoning deaths of six backpackers, including two Australian teenagers, Bianca Jones and Holly Morton-Bowles. The charges of selling food harmful to health and operating an illegal business carry a potential prison sentence of three months to four years and a fine. This announcement has led to deep frustration and bitter disappointment from Australian officials, who summoned Laos' ambassador to Canberra to convey their objections. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong stated that the charges do not reflect the seriousness of the tragedy. The Danish Foreign Minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, also expressed disappointment with the lenient indictment. The case will remain open for 15 years, allowing for more serious charges if sufficient proof of negligent homicide emerges. The victims, aged 19, were travelling in Southeast Asia when they consumed contaminated alcohol at the Nana backpackers hostel in Vang Vieng. Four other foreign nationals, two Danish, one British, and one American, also died in the incident.