web DeskThe number of victims of deadly herbal liquor has increased to 3, and more than a dozen are still on ventilators. It is expected that the results of the illegal liquor will be known within 1-2 days. Min Buri District has ordered the closure of 5 herbal liquor shops and is continuously disseminating knowledge to the public.
Progress in the case of patients and deaths due to methanol poisoning from drinking illicit liquor at a drug stall in the Hathai Rat area, Min Buri district, between 22-25 August 2024. The latest figures show additional patients. Last night (26 August), there were a total of 31 patients admitted to the hospital, of which 1 more person died, making a total of 3 patients. They were divided into 15 patients admitted to Nopparat Rajathanee Hospital (1 person died), 9 patients admitted to Nawamin 9 Hospital (1 person died), 2 patients admitted to Rajavithi Hospital, 1 patient admitted to Seri Rak Hospital (1 person died), 1 patient admitted to Lerdsin Hospital, 1 patient admitted to Kasemrad R
amkhamhaeng Hospital, 1 patient admitted to Nawamin Hospital, and 1 patient admitted to Vejjajiva Hospital.
Yesterday afternoon (August 26), Dr. Pairoj Surattanawanich, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Medical Services, held a progress monitoring meeting at the Front Operations Center, Nopparat Rajathanee Hospital, and revealed that there are 13 severe patients being treated in the ICU and on ventilators, which doctors must monitor closely because in the future there may be a risk that they may become visually impaired.
For all patients admitted for treatment, it was found that they were Thais living in Min Buri, Nong Chok and Khlong Sam Wa districts. All had a history of drinking illegal liquor in the area. The reporter further reported that in addition to these 3 areas, there were also patients who drank illegal liquor from the market in Lam Luk Ka, Pathum Thani Province, who were taken for treatment at Nopparat Rajathanee Hospital.
When the raw materials are obtained, they are mixed in a 200
-liter tank in a ratio of 3 gallons of ethyl alcohol to 7 gallons of water, mixing 6 tanks or 600 liters at a time regularly. When the two ingredients are well mixed, an instrument is used to measure the degree of 35 degrees before being packed in 25-liter bags and sold for 900 baht per bag. They have been doing this for about 1 year. There is only one regular customer who buys the illicit liquor to resell at herbal liquor stalls, but it is not known which herbal liquor stalls they are in because the buyer did not provide any information. He insists that only ethyl alcohol is used as the main ingredient in mixing the illicit liquor, and definitely does not use methyl alcohol. Initially, the police did not believe the testimony and sent samples of the evidence to the Central Institute of Forensic Science, Royal Thai Police, to examine for ingredients. If methyl alcohol or other ingredients that are life-threatening are found, additional charges will be filed.
Min Buri District continues to monitor and inspect
suspicious herbal liquor shops.
Mr. Sakchai Saisuk, Director of Min Buri District, revealed that the district office is still meeting with relevant officials continuously. He assigned officials to go to the area to follow up on the order to close 5 herbal liquor shops in the area that received fake liquor for sale. He also emphasized on continuously disseminating knowledge to the public.
From the survey in the district, it was found that there were a total of 7 herbal liquor stalls, of which 5 shops received their products from the network of Ms. Pu. Recently, the district found another 2 shops that received their herbal liquor from another network, so the police and the Excise Department were contacted to inspect them.
According to the information, Ms. Poo received the raw materials from Saphan Sung area and mixed them at her house in Soi Hathai Rat. She claimed that she mixed them according to a recipe that had been passed down for decades. However, from asking the patient’s relative who drank it regular
ly, he said that this time the taste had changed. Therefore, there is a question as to whether there will be any changes in the ingredients in this batch.
While the announcement alerted the locations of shops where people had been drinking herbal liquor from the 18 chains of Je Pu shops, divided into 5 in Min Buri District, 1 in Nong Chok District, 9 in Khlong Sam Wa District, and 1 in Lat Krabang, Prawet, and Khan Na Yao Districts, officials still had to go down and ask who were the regulars and who were the customers at the shops. Some people might have bought some to take home, put it in the refrigerator, and then drank it, which caused them to start having symptoms. It is also predicted that the herbal liquor might have spread to more shops.
Source: Thai News Agency
