Bethany Clarke watched her best friend Simone White slip into a coma after they shared free shots at a Laos hostel last November. White, a 28-year-old lawyer from Orpington, never woke up; she died days later from irreversible brain damage. Clarke survived, and now, as Laos prepares to press charges of no more than one year in jail against those allegedly responsible for the deaths of six backpackers, she is pushing a government-backed campaign to ensure others know the danger of methanol.
White was among six foreign tourists who died after consuming methanol-laced drinks at the Nana Backpacker Hostel in Vang Vieng. The others included Australians Bianca Jones and Holly Morton-Bowles, both 19, and travellers from the US and Denmark. Earlier this year, ten hostel employees were charged with destroying evidence and given suspended sentences and fines of £135 each — a penalty the brother of one victim called an “absolute joke”.
“UK government backs methanol awareness campaign after Laos deaths as Australian families blast expected lenient charges.”
Now, Australian media report that Laos will bring charges carrying a maximum one-year prison sentence and a fine of A$1,600 (£829). Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Canberra was “deeply frustrated and bitterly disappointed” and summoned Laos’ ambassador. Bianca Jones’ father Mark told the ABC: “To think that the lives of my daughter, and another five people, are worth less than a year in prison and less than $1,600… furious would be an understatement.” He called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to intervene.
In the UK, Clarke has channelled her grief into action. She launched the “MethaKnow” campaign — which has applied for charitable status — and this week won backing from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, which released its summer travel alert. Clarke said the FCDO campaign coincided with MethaKnow’s launch, and that awareness has already surged: “I’ve had people say, ‘I went to Bali and saw this, so I avoided spirits.’ I imagine we’ve reached millions of people by now.”
Toxic in even small amounts, methanol is a colourless liquid sometimes added to bootleg alcohol. Medical experts believe as little as 30ml — roughly a single shot — can be fatal. Symptoms can take up to 48 hours to appear, mimicking a severe hangover, as Clarke and White discovered too late. While Clarke recovers, she hopes the government-backed push will prevent another family from receiving the kind of letter that White’s parents got: notice that the lives of their children, in Laos’ justice system, are worth little more than a year behind bars.
