METHANOL poisoning claimed the life of a tourist and caused another to go blind after a restaurant in China’s Sichuan province mistook wood alcohol for wine, China Press reported.
The duo was among a group who paid 480 yuan (RM313) for a three-day tour to Chengdu.
Their tour guide took them to a restaurant offering bottomless drinks, including alcohol.
However, they all started feeling ill the next day and most were later hospitalised.
It was later discovered that they had all suffered from methanol poisoning.
According to a local source, it’s believed the restaurant’s employees served wood alcohol to the group by mistake.
The Jiuzaigou county Culture, Sports, and Tourism Department confirmed local police were investigating the matter.
Methanol poisoning is known to happen when it is mixed with drinking alcohol.
Blindness may occur after drinking as little as 10ml and death after 15ml.
Symptoms of methanol poisoning include decreased level of consciousness, poor or no coordination, vomiting, abdominal pain and a specific smell on the breath.
> A video of a food delivery rider fighting against two other men at a restaurant went viral online and led to the arrest of all three suspects, Sin Chew Daily reported.
The incident, which took place in Penang on Tuesday, was believed to have started after the rider kept yelling at a waiter at the restaurant.
Two other customers at the restaurant decided to intervene but it soon escalated into an argument and a fight.
Video footage showed one of the men attacking the rider with a chair.
Other customers attempted to pull the men apart, to no avail.
According to a statement released by the Southwest district police headquarters, the police nabbed three suspects aged between 44 and 68.
