April 11, 2018•Update: April 12, 2018
By Ainur Rohmah
YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia
Indonesian police arrested at least eight people suspected of selling home-distilled liquor that killed 82 people in two provinces in the past week, official statements said.
The deaths occurred in several parts of the provinces of Jakarta and West Java, according to the National Police.
The police have arrested the suspects in a series of raids in Bandung, Jakarta, and Sukabumi over the past three days, according to the statements issued by local police departments.
South Jakarta Police Chief Commissioner Indra Jafar told Anadolu Agency that lab results showed that the home-distilled drink consumed by the victims in Jakarta contained methanol and ethanol.
He said the police were still investigating the liquor content the West Java victims consumed.
"Ethanol substances only have an intoxicating effect, but methanol can be deadly," said Jafar, adding that the latter could cause organ damage when consumed.
"Lung and respiratory function can be disrupted causing suffocation," he said.
Methanol, also known as wood alcohol, is a commonly used organic solvent that, because of its toxicity, can cause metabolic acidosis, neurologic sequelae, and even death, when ingested, according to medical website Medscape.
The police were still hunting for suppliers who provided the methanol to the sellers.
They also found other ingredients such as soft drinks, syrup, and energy drinks in the liquor samples as well.
In June 2009, 25 people including a British man died after possibly drinking homemade liquor laced with methanol on the Indonesian resort islands of Bali and Lombok.
