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СпутникиРНSpaceXРоскосмосNASAForeign Minister Penny Wong said that she was “deeply frustrated and bitterly disappointed" at the leniency of the charges announced on Friday.
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 authorities in Laos are not pursuing the most serious charges in relation to the methanol poisoning deaths.”
“This devastating news will only add to the immense pain and grief suffered by the families and friends of Holly and Bianca,” Wong said. “We have consistently made clear our expectations that charges should reflect the gravity of the tragedy that claimed the lives of Holly and Bianca in November 2024. This includes the Prime Minister and I expressing these expectations directly to our respective counterparts.”
Wong said that DFAT had summoned the Lao ambassador to Canberra to convey its displeasure at the charges and dispatched Pablo Kang, its special envoy for the methanol poisoning issue, to travel to Laos today to “convey the Australian Government’s objections and reinforce our expectations for an investigation that delivers justice for Holly, Bianca, and the other victims of the methanol poisoning.”
Wong said that she also planned to “again put Australia’s views directly” to Lao Foreign Minister Thongsavanh Phomvihane when she travels to Manila this week for meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
In the immediate aftermath of the incident, the Lao Foreign Ministry said that it was “profoundly saddened” by the deaths of the six foreign nationals and promised to find “the causes of the incident and to bring the perpetrators to justice in accordance with the law.”
Given this assurance, and the repeated representations of the Australian government, it is baffling that the Lao authorities have gone so lightly on thee people that it found responsible. Laos’ tourism sector is small by regional standards – the country welcomed around 4.6 million foreign visitors in 2025, compared to 21.2 million for Vietnam and nearly 33 million for Thailand – but it plays a disproportionate role in the country’s economy. With this in mind, one would expect that the authorities would take decisive action to reassure foreign visitors that the country is a safe destination.
The Danish Foreign Ministry said in its statement that the case will “formally remain open” for 15 years, “meaning that more serious charges carrying higher penalties such as negligent manslaughter may still be brought if sufficient evidence can be established,” it stated. Whether or not the Lao government takes this opportunity remains to be seen.
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