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- Eleven people died from suspected poisoning at a funeral in Cambodia after drinking moonshine.
- A growing tally of people are dying from homemade brews in the country, with more than 30 deaths this year.
- Methanol, a highly toxic liquid, is often found in fatal amounts in the homemade brews.
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A funeral in Cambodia took an even grimmer turn when 11 villagers died from suspected poisoning after drinking homemade rice wine, according to local police on Sunday. Ten others were hospitalized.
They were attending a funeral in Kampot province, southwest Cambodia, about 78 miles from capital Phnom Penh, according to an AFP report on Channel News Asia.
The latest deaths add to a growing number of people who have died from drinking toxic homemade alcohol. The Cambodian health ministry said in June that in the first quarter of the year, 31 people in three provinces died from suspected poisoning after drinking homemade rice or herbal wine, reported the Phnom Penh Post. High levels of methanol – a very toxic liquid – were found in batches the home brews, per the health ministry.
Homemade rice wine is abundant in Cambodian villages. It's often the preferred choice of drink at celebrations and events because it is cheaper than commercial drinks. However, because it is brewed at home, there is little regulation, and reports of groups of people dropping dead from ingesting it are not uncommon.
"Since the mid-1990s, when I started working in Cambodia, the situation has been pretty constant, with home distillers operating ramshackle stills inside their houses or shops, and selling this home-produced rice whiskey to their neighbors," Jonathan Padwe, an anthropologist who has worked in the country, told the BBC.
Cambodian authorities have been trying to crack down on the unsafe practice. Police arrested at least 15 rice brewers and sellers last month, according to the AFP.