Local brew kills 13 people in Indonesia's Papua

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

JAKARTA, Aug 25 (Reuters) Thirteen people have died in Indonesia's Papua province after drinking a concoction containing 70 per cent alcohol, a leading daily reported today.

The victims drank the alcohol, which was bought from a pharmacy, combined with an energy drink and condensed milk.

The Jakarta Post said construction workers and students in the remote province turned to alcohol from pharmacies because the price of legal alcoholic drinks in Papua was prohibitive.

''Local governments deal with the problem by raising taxes on alcoholic drinks under the assumption people will not buy alcohol if the prices are too high,'' the newspaper quoted activist Anita Sihombing Bonay as saying.

''But that's not the case, is it?'' said Bonay from the Papuan Women and Children Empowerment Research Centre.

The death toll over the past week included two women and two university students.

The Jakarta Post said a small bottle of beer costs about 30,000 rupiah (3.20 dollar) in Papua, much higher than around 17,000 rupiah in most of the country.

Papua has been torn by a low-level armed rebellion for decades.

It has long been under the scrutiny of Western groups critical of how Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, treats the mainly Christian and ethnically distinct area.

REUTERS RN DS1117

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