1 dead, 33 hospitalized after drinking tainted wine in Cambodia

2020-11-28 15:05:16 GMT2020-11-28 23:05:16(Beijing Time) Xinhua English

PHNOM PENH, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- One villager died and 33 others had been hospitalized in central Cambodia's Kampong Chhnang province on Saturday after drinking locally-made rice wine, which was suspicious of containing high levels of methanol, Health Ministry's spokeswoman Or Vandine said.

The incident happened in a rural village in Teuk Pos district when the victims drank the tainted wine during the funeral of a villager who had died of drinking pond water contaminating with pesticide residues, she said.

"A person was pronounced dead and 33 others have been admitted to the Kampong Chhnang provincial hospital and a health center for treatment," she told reporters, adding that four of them are in serious condition and have been sent to Calmette Hospital in Phnom Penh for intensive care.

Selling rice wine in the province has been temporarily banned after the incident, the spokeswoman said, calling on people not to drink wine that has no clear source or produces without proper techniques.

Rice wine is popular in rural areas in Cambodia due to its cheap price.

In June, methanol-laced rice wine left seven people dead and more than 30 others hospitalized in Northwestern country's Banteay Meanchey province. Enditem

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