Sign reads ‘Out of Sight brand Adulterated Liquor’

In what is believed to be the worst-ever mass fatality caused by alcohol poisoning in a country where drinkers regularly die from consuming bootleg alcohol, 82 people have died and 100 are in a critical condition in hospital after drinking moonshine.

Despite hundreds of young Indonesians regularly dying each year from consuming bootleg alcohol known locally as oplosan, instead of addressing the root cause of the problem – religious based restrictions on the sale of safe and legal alcohol and excessive taxes which make it too expensive for Indonesia’s poor – the government has instead ordered the police to launch a crackdown on illegal alcohol sellers and place further restrictions legitimate sales outlets.