2018 Malaysia methanol poisonings
The 2018 Malaysia methanol poisonings occurred in September 2018 in three states and two federal territories in West Malaysia comprising Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, Perak and Negeri Sembilan. Until October, 45 people from the total of 98 cases have been reported dead by the Malaysian Health Ministry. Most of the victims are foreign workers from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar and Nepal with several Malaysians.
Based on investigation, most of the victims had bought a cheap liquor from :wikt:hole-in-the-wall|hole in the wall stores in bid to evade the tax rates on Malaysian alcohols that range from 150–560%. As a response towards the incident, the Malaysian government has confiscated 15,630 bottles of liquor from 1,961 premises across the country. Around 30 people in connection with the distribution had been arrested despite little response and insufficient enforcement against the black market in the country from the authorities had attracted criticism.
