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Yogyakarta to crack down on bootleg liquor after 13 more deaths
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Police officers question a man suspected of making bootleg liquor, or "oplosan", at Mlati Police precinct in Sleman regency in Yogyakarta on Feb. 10. At least 39 people have died this year in Yogyakarta after consuming oplosan. (Antara/Andreas Fitri Atmoko)
Y
ogyakarta Police are planning a crackdown on the sale of bootleg liquor, locally known as "oplosan", after 13 people died over the weekend after consuming the illicit concoctions.
The 13 people fell victim after parties in Sewon and Banguntapan districts in Bantul on Friday and Saturday, said Cmr. Suharno of the Banguntapan Police on Sunday.
The victims are: Bantul natives Sigit Purnomo, 29, Budi Kahono, 37, Gunawan, 36, Eko Purwoko, 30, Nurdin, 32, Pardiyono, 41, Wahyudi, Sudarno, 32, Tedi Irawan and Daliman, both 34, and Yogyarta natives Sujiyo, 52, Dandi Febrian, 28, and Sabri, 31.
The numbers of deaths has raised serious concerns with local authorities, Yogyakarta Police chief Brig. Gen. Prasta Wahyu Hidayat said on Monday.
"I have ordered a big operation to eradicate social diseases," he told journalists.
Police have apprehended two drinks vendors, Feriyanto and Slamet Winangsih, and named them suspects in the case. Police also confiscated 81 bottles of bootleg liquor, which is sold for Rp 15,000 (US$1.15) per bottle.
The police have also sought to impose heavier punishments, Prasta said. Police will charge the suspects under the Food Commodity Law, which carries a minimum sentences of five years in prison and a Rp 10 billion fine.
"We will make sure the perpetrators [oplosan sellers] are punished with imprisonment and not just [given] light sentences," he said.
Yogyakarta Police are in the process of asking victims' families for permission to run autopsies on the bodies to try to ascertain what chemical substances caused their deaths.
According to reports, the alcohol was mixed with ethanol and mosquito repellent to add extra reactions for people consuming it, Yogyakarta Police spokeswoman Anny Pudjiastuti said.
This is the second fatal bootleg liquor case in Yogyakarta this year after 26 people died after consuming oplosan in February.(rin)
