Czech Republic has 29th victim of methyl alcohol

The first death in the methanol scandal was reported in early September. Dozens of people have been hospitalised since then. Some of the cured went blind.

The government introduced a two-week ban on the sales of drinks with more than 20 percent of alcohol in mid-September and exports were also banned.

Alcoholic drinks produced after January 1, 2012, must have a new stamp and a "birth certificate," without which they must be sold.

The police have accused some 50 people in connection with the scandal.

Two men who allegedly stood at the beginning of the scandal and the tainted alcohol´s distributor have been accused of endangering the safety of the public for which they face up to 20 years in prison if found guilty or possibly even a longer sentence.

In the most recent case, Czech police have accused Pavel Caniga, executive of the Likerka Drak liquor producer, in connection with the uncovering of spirits containing poisonous methanol in the storage facility of the firm's distributor in Zlin, south Moravia.

The Czech Agricultural and Food Inspection Authority (SZPI) has banned the sales of Tuzemak (Czech rum) liquor made by Likerka Drak, in which a poisonous content of methyl alcohol was detected.

Author: ČTK
www.ctk.cz