Oceania | Society | Southeast Asia

Australia Updates Travel Warning For Laos After Announcement of Methanol Poisoning Charges

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said that she was “deeply frustrated and bitterly disappointed” at the leniency of the charges announced on Friday.

A thoroughfare in the town of Vang Vieng, a popular tourist destination in central Laos.

Australia has updated its travel warning for Laos after the country’s government laid charges in connection with a methanol poisoning that killed two Australian teenagers in 2024.

The Smartraveller notification for Laos, which is published by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), was updated on Friday to classify the nation as a level two risk, urging visitors to “exercise a high degree of caution.”

“We’ve reviewed our advice for Laos and have raised the overall travel advice level,” the notification stated. “We now advise 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.”

It repeated that “several foreign nationals, including Australians, died of methanol poisoning through consuming alcoholic drinks” and urged Australians to avoid consuming Tiger Vodka and Tiger Whisky, both of which have been banned by the Lao authorities due to health risks.

The amendment came the same day that the Lao government announced charges in connection with a mass methanol poisoning in November 2024 that cost the lives of two Australians. Holly Morton-Bowles and Bianca Jones, both aged 19, died after they were served alcohol laced with methanol at the Nana Backpacker Hostel in Vang Vieng, a popular tourist destination in central Laos. British lawyer Simone White, Danish nationals Anne-Sofie Orkild Coyman and Freja Vennervald Sorensen, and American James Louis Hutson also died in the incident.

After a long investigation, Lao authorities announced on Friday that the owner of a distillery had been charged in connection with the incident. Denmark’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the charges included the sale of food products harmful to health and operating an illegal business, which charges carry a penalty ranging from three months to four years’ imprisonment, as well as a $1,600 fine.

The leniency of the charges prompted an outcry from the Australian victims’ relatives and a strong rebuke from Canberra.

In a statement, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said her government was “deeply frustrated and bitterly disappointed that........

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