JAKARTA (Reuters) - Eighty-two Indonesians have died and many more have been hospitalized after drinking tainted bootleg liquor last week, police said on Wednesday.

The deaths occurred in the capital Jakarta and neighboring province of West Java and at least a dozen men had been detained on suspicion of making and distributing the drink, police said.

“This is a crazy phenomenon that has caused tremendous loss for the public in the past week,” said deputy national police chief Syafruddin.

“We must trace it to the roots, who the masterminds are and the distributors.”

Laboratory tests showed that nearly pure alcohol had been mixed with herbal drinks and energy drinks with high caffeine. Police had previously said at least one suspected bootlegger had added mosquito repellent to the mix.

Police raided street stalls and homes across several cities towns and found large steel and rubber tanks used to mix the drinks. Thousands of bottles and small plastic bags of the drinks, which police said could sell for as little as 20,000 rupiah ($1.45) per bag, were seized.

Muslim-majority Indonesia imposes high rates of tax on alcohol, which sometimes leads to people turning to cheap home brews.

Deaths from such consumption are reported frequently, but the latest toll is among the highest in recent years. In 2016, 36 people died after drinking locally made liquor, according to media.</s>Indonesia’s fight against illegal alcohol has snowballed into one of the country’s biggest crisis to date, as nearly 80 people have died from drinking tainted bootleg alcohol.

In 2015, the country banned tens of thousands of mini-marts and other stores from selling alcohol. On top of that, authorities decided to put high taxes on alcohol, prompting illegal sellers to launch a thriving black market. Because the poor are the ones who often can’t afford to buy booze legally, they are the first to suffer the consequences.

On Tuesday, authorities told reporters that 45 people have died in three different locations in West Java, while 31 others have died earlier in April in Jakarta and other nearby cities. The culprit is a mix of bootleg liquor, cough medicine, and insect repellent that has turned out to be toxic.

In an interview with Indonesian TV, Yani Sumpena, the head of the state-run hospital in Cicalengka, said that “[s]ince April 6, there are 93 patients in our hospital while our capacity is very limited, only 19 beds.”

If more people arrive with alcohol poisoning, they unfortunately have to “refer to the surrounding hospitals."

Because methanol can be a byproduct of bootleg distilling behind these illegal alcoholic beverages, authorities said that consumption can be lethal. On top of that, the alcohol is often tainted.

Even as drinking alcohol remains legal, recent laws targeting the product's sale have created a climate of prohibition that is forcing poor consumers to go after the product in the black market. As a result, the rates of deaths tied to alcohol consumption are increasing.

So far, seven individuals who have been suspected of having mixed bootleg liquor with dangerous ingredients have been arrested in West Java, but authorities are still investigating to learn whether this crisis is tied to a single provider.

"We have not yet found any link among them," West Java police spokesman Trunoyudo Wisnu Andiko said. "Based on their confessions, they worked independently, each mixing the drinks in their own way, such as using cough remedies, ointments, and mosquito repellent."

Four other suspects were also arrested in Jakarta.

What history in the United States has shown us is that the tougher the laws against alcohol sale and consumption, the more people are driven to the black market to fulfill their desires. As a result, individuals who often cannot afford more expensive products coming from legal sources end up suffering the health consequences of drinking harsh or tainted alcohol.

If Indonesian authorities really want to fight alcohol consumption, they might want to look at another way. Forcing the poor to buy from the black market is not working.</s>JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Indonesian authorities say at least two dozen people have died in the past day from drinking toxic bootleg liquor, raising the toll to 82 this month and highlighting how attempts to curb legal alcohol have tragically backfired.

National police spokesman Setyo Wasisto said Tuesday that the latest information shows 51 died in West Java in the past several days on top of the 31 who died in the capital, Jakarta, and satellite cities earlier in the month. On Monday, the death toll was 54, based on information from police and health officials.

In Cicalengka, near the West Java provincial capital of Bandung, more than 90 people were hospitalized in the past few days. Elsewhere in West Java, deaths were reported in Bandung, Sukabumi and Cileunyi.

"All the patients come with shortness of breath, diminished consciousness and many whose vision is blurred," Amelia, a doctor at the state-run hospital in Cicalengka who uses one name, told Indonesian TV.

High taxes on alcohol have spawned a black market for booze among the poor in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, where drinking alcohol is discouraged but not illegal. In 2015, the country banned sales of alcohol from tens of thousands of mini-marts and other small stores after pressure from conservative Muslims.

The head of the state-run hospital in Cicalengka, Yani Sumpena, said it was overwhelmed with the influx of alcohol poisoning patients.

"Since April 6, there are 93 patients in our hospital while our capacity is very limited, only 19 beds," he told Indonesian TV. "So the rest we refer to the surrounding hospitals."

Potentially lethal methanol can be a byproduct of bootleg distilling and the tainted alcohol is also sometimes mixed with soft drinks. In the recent spate of deaths, police said pure alcohol was sometimes combined with ingredients such as cough mixture and insect repellant.

Deaths from toxic alcohol are common in Indonesia and foreigners are occasionally among the victims. Some governments warn travellers to the Indonesian islands of Bali and Lombok to be cautious about consuming local spirits and alcoholic beverages.

But the latest cluster of fatalities is dramatic, leading to speculation that a single large distributor was responsible. But West Java police said they have not found evidence to support that.

West Java police spokesman Trunoyudo Wisnu Andiko said police have arrested seven people suspected of mixing or selling the bootleg liquor and another person remains at large.

"We have not yet found any link among them," Andiko said. "Based on their confessions, they worked independently, each mixing the drinks in their own way such as using cough remedies, ointments and mosquito repellent."

In the Jakarta area, police have arrested at least four suspects.</s>related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery.

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Eighty-two Indonesians have died and many more have been hospitalised after drinking tainted bootleg liquor last week, police said on Wednesday.

JAKARTA: Eighty-two Indonesians have died and many more have been hospitalised after drinking tainted bootleg liquor last week, police said on Wednesday.

The deaths occurred in the capital Jakarta and neighbouring province of West Java and at least a dozen men had been detained on suspicion of making and distributing the drink, police said.

"This is a crazy phenomenon that has caused tremendous loss for the public in the past week," said deputy national police chief Syafruddin.

"We must trace it to the roots, who the masterminds are and the distributors."

Laboratory tests showed that nearly pure alcohol had been mixed with herbal drinks and energy drinks with high caffeine. Police had previously said at least one suspected bootlegger had added mosquito repellent to the mix.

Police raided street stalls and homes across several cities towns and found large steel and rubber tanks used to mix the drinks. Thousands of bottles and small plastic bags of the drinks, which police said could sell for as little as 20,000 rupiah (US$1.45) per bag, were seized.

Muslim-majority Indonesia imposes high rates of tax on alcohol, which sometimes leads to people turning to cheap home brews.

Deaths from such consumption are reported frequently, but the latest toll is among the highest in recent years. In 2016, 36 people died after drinking locally made liquor, according to media.</s>At least 82 people have died so far this month in Indonesia after drinking bootleg alcohol, authorities said on Tuesday.

The latest tragedy, speculated to be caused by a single batch, highlights the unfortunate side effects of efforts to limit the legal alcohol trade.

Read more: Why are more Indonesians favoring Shariah?
• Police said 51 people died in West Java and 31 died in and around the capital Jakarta.
• Scores more are in critical condition in hospital.
• Police arrested seven people in West Java and four in Jakarta.

"All the patients come with shortness of breath, diminished consciousness and many whose vision is blurred," Amelia, a doctor at the state-run hospital in Cicalengka who uses one name, told Indonesian TV.

"This is a wake up call ... for all of us," said National Police spokesman Setyo Wasisto.

Unusually high: Toxic alcohol often causes deaths in Indonesia, but the sheer scale of the latest spate of deaths has led to suspicions of a single large distributor.

Alcohol crackdown: In 2015 Indonesia banned tens of thousands of mini-marts and small stores from selling alcohol amid pressure from conservative Muslims. Indonesia is the most-populous Muslim nation, but its mostly-Sunni faithful practice a moderate form of Islam. High taxes have helped pushed a black market for alcohol for the country's poorly-paid workers.

Toxic brew: Bootleg alcohol is usually sold by street vendors who mix it up with various additions. Lax distilling can produce alcohol laced with methanol, ingestion of which can be fatal.

Ongoing investigation: Two suspects are still on the run and police are trying to piece together what happened. Authorities have warned that the death toll could increase.

Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here.</s>Bootleg alcohol kills 82 people in Indonesia, 100 others in critical condition

Eighty-two people have died in two Indonesian provinces after they were poisoned by a batch of bootleg alcohol.

The death toll will certainly rise, with more than 100 people in a critical condition in hospitals around Jakarta and West Java province capital Bandung.

It is suspected to be the worst-ever mass fatality caused by alcohol poisoning in a country where drinkers regularly die from consuming homemade bootleg.

Legal alcohol is heavily taxed and too expensive for most Indonesians.

The high price of spirits has contributed to the popularity of illegal bootleg liquor, including a variety known in Java as "oplosan".

The drink is sold in plastic bags on the street and can contain almost anything — from traditional herbal drinks to cheap wine, energy drinks and sometimes home-brewed liquor that contains fatal amounts of methanol.

Methanol or methyl alcohol is a poison that is produced in the brewing process. Commercial alcohol producers take care to separate methanol from their products as it can be fatal in tiny amounts.

Bootleggers are not so careful, and it regularly kills drinkers in poorly-regulated markets like Indonesia and Thailand.

The illegal spirits were sold in different roadside stalls and stores around Jakarta and Bandung — but police suspect the deadly alcohol all came from the same original batch.

Police have raided four outlets selling spirits and confiscated bottled alcohol as well as spirits stored in large plastic drums.

So far six people have been arrested for selling the deadly oplosan and police are searching for at least two more suspects.

In Bandung, patients have been arriving at the city's hospitals since the weekend.

Some of the victims were already unconscious and some had been partially-blinded by the moonshine.

More than 100 victims have come to the city's Cicalengka Public Hospital, its director Yani Sumpena Muchtar said.

"The conditions of which these patients arrived in are varied — from headaches, stomach ache, throwing up, blurred vision to unconsciousness," the doctor said.

"At the moment, 29 people are in critical condition, 11 are being treated in regular wards, and 31 people have died here."</s>It was reported that 82 people died on Indonesia’s Java island after drinking home-made alcohol. Setyo Wisasto a police spokesman said the victims died in West Java province and Jakarta after consuming cheap home-made alcoholic drinks, He said 80 others have been hospitalised. Authorities in the city of Bandung declared a health emergency after 45 […]

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This post was syndicated from Leadership Nigeria Newspapers. Click here to read the full text on the original website.</s>More than 80 dead from tainted liquor in Indonesia

Indonesian authorities say at least two dozen people have died in the past day from drinking toxic bootleg liquor, raising the toll to 82 this month and highlighting how attempts to curb legal alcohol have tragically backfired, Bloomberg reported.

National police spokesman Setyo Wasisto said Tuesday that the latest information shows 51 died in West Java in the past several days on top of the 31 who died in the capital, Jakarta, and satellite cities earlier in the month. On Monday, the death toll was 54, based on information from police and health officials.

In Cicalengka, near the West Java provincial capital of Bandung, more than 90 people were hospitalized in the past few days. Elsewhere in West Java, deaths were reported in Bandung, Sukabumi and Cileunyi.

"All the patients come with shortness of breath, diminished consciousness and many whose vision is blurred," Amelia, a doctor at the state-run hospital in Cicalengka who uses one name, told Indonesian TV.

High taxes on alcohol have spawned a black market for booze among the poor in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, where drinking alcohol is discouraged but not illegal. In 2015, the country banned sales of alcohol from tens of thousands of mini-marts and other small stores after pressure from conservative Muslims.

The head of the state-run hospital in Cicalengka, Yani Sumpena, said it was overwhelmed with the influx of alcohol poisoning patients.

"Since April 6, there are 93 patients in our hospital while our capacity is very limited, only 19 beds," he told Indonesian TV. "So the rest we refer to the surrounding hospitals."</s>The Indonesian authorities said Wednesday that the number of people dead from consuming homemade adulterated alcohol on Java island has increased to 82 and seven suspects have been arrested in relation to the incident.

Deputy Chief of National Police Muhammad Syafruddin said in a Jakarta press conference that 51 people have died in West Java province since Friday when those affected started being taken to hospitals.</s>It was reported that 82 people died on Indonesia’s Java island after drinking home-made alcohol.

Setyo Wisasto a police spokesman said the victims died in West Java province and Jakarta after consuming cheap home-made alcoholic drinks, He said 80 others have been hospitalised.

Authorities in the city of Bandung declared a health emergency after 45 people died there.

Dozens of people die each year from methanol poisoning in Indonesia, where alcoholic drinks are expensive.

Experts say local home brewers do not have the technology to ensure that the methanol, which is highly toxic when ingested, has been separated correctly to render the drink safe to consume.
The death toll from tainted alcohol in Jakarta and West Java, Indonesia, reaches at least 82.