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Four dead, one blind after drinking illicit liquor

JOHOR BARU: At least four people have died and another has gone blind after consuming illicit liquor in the state.

Johor police chief Comm Datuk Mohd Khalil Kader Mohd said among the four dead were a local and three foreigners – a Nepalese, a Pakistani and an Indian national. All victims were in their 30s.

He added that all of the illicit liquor could have contained methanol. (Methanol is a toxic substance, unlike ethanol which is the type of ethyl alcohol found in drinks.)

All cases were reported over the past 48 hours.

“We have formed a special team and arrested nine people,” he said, adding that the suspects include four locals and five Indonesians.

All of them were detained in a series of raids in Johor Baru South, Seri Alam and Kulai.

“We have seized some liquor which was smuggled into the country,” he said during a press conference here.

He added that this was the first case of people dying after consuming such liquor in the state.

Comm Mohd Khalil said samples of the liquor had been sent for testing, and police were awaiting the results of the post-mortem.

He urged those with information about outlets involved in the sale of illicit liquor to contact the police hotline at 07-2212 999.

Source: TheStar