Authorities say tourists should exercise a high degree of caution in the country due to the risk of methanol poisoning, which killed Australian women Bianca Jones and Holly Morton-Bowles in 2024.

Foreign officials suggested the owner could face up to four years in prison, if convicted, after the victims’ families were devastated by the possibility of a lesser penalty.

DFAT has told the parents of the teens who died after a mass methanol poisoning incident that Lao authorities were unlikely to lay down severe charges.