HÀ NỘI — Nguyễn Thị Hảo from Cự Khê Commune, Thanh Oai District, Hà Nội was sentenced 18 months of imprisonment for making fake alcohol in a trial opened by the Hà Nội People’s Court on Tuesday, reported the Vietnam News Agency.

According to the indictment, in May, 2015, Hảo established a traditional rice wine processing facility without any business registration. Her self-claimed “traditional rice wine” was actually a combination of industrial alcohol, cassava wine, sugar, táo mèo also known as Docynia indica, a kind of apple that is grown in Việt Nam’s, fermented sticky rice and well water.

However, a label on every bottle of her wine says that it is made in a traditional method. The product was widely distributed to restaurants and shops around town, at a duck noodle soup stall on Nguyễn Chí Thanh Street, for example.  

On February 28, 2017, Nguyễn Minh Khương from Yên Bái Province and his family had a dinner at the stall where he drank a couple glasses of the wine made by Hảo. At 2am on the next day his health turned critical and he was immediately hospitalised. Khương’s health report later said that his health was damaged by drinking fake wine.

According to an inspection by the Institute of Criminal Science and Technology under the Ministry of Public Security, bottles of wine seized at the duck noodle soup stall had a high percentage of methanol – from 37.92 per cent to 38.44 per cent.

Methanol is compounded from hydro and carbon dioxide. It is extremely hazardous to humans. Inhaling or drinking methanol may cause headaches, vomiting, vision loss, respiratory failure or even death.

At the trial, Nguyễn Thị Hảo admitted her wrongdoings. The trial panel determined that Hao’s behavior was dangerous to society and violated the state’s food and beverage safety management.

According to the Việt Nam Food Administration under the Ministry of Health, over the past ten years, 382 people have been poisoned by unsafe alcohol and 98 of them died as a result

Most cases of alcohol poison are caused by drinking alcohol of unknown origin, or home-made liquor sold at small restaurants and street stalls. — VNS