The Australian government will ask Indonesia to crack down on the illicit drinks market in tourist areas following the death of an Australian teenager who drank a methanol-laced cocktail on Lombok.
Liam Davies, 19, died on Sunday after being poisoned during New Year’s celebrations at a bar on the resort island.
A number of cases of methanol poisoning have previously led to Australian health authorities warning of potential poisoning from drinking the local ”arak” brew.
An 18-year-old Australian school leaver was blinded in Bali last month and in September 2011, a Perth-based rugby player died after consuming arak – which is distilled from rice or palm sap.
Also in 2011, an Australian nurse suffered brain damage and renal failure after drinking a methanol-laced cocktail in Indonesia.
Foreign minister Bob Carr said that Australia’s consul-general in Bali would make representations to the Indonesian authorities, seeking ”more careful policing” and ”better regulation” – especially of the lower end of the illicit drinks market.
