Officials at the Pursat branch of the Consumer Protection Competition and Fraud Repression Directorate-General (CCF) in Snam Preah commune’s Pnov village, Bakan district, have collected rice wine samples following the suspected poisoning death of a man.
CCF director-general Phan Oun informed The Post on September 10 that several wine samples had been transported to the CCF’s primary laboratory in Phnom Penh. However, as of September 10, no results have been generated.
“The results could be released on Monday. We are also conducting a campaign to educate people on this matter in 18 provinces. We have observed that our people are still not vigilant on this issue, particularly when it comes to consuming rice wine and herbal wine,” he stated.
A tragic incident occurred on September 7, in which a farmer, identified as Poan Rith, aged 40, died after consuming wine.
Nevertheless, officials cannot confirm whether the wine was poisonous as an autopsy is currently underway.
According to witness accounts cited in the Bakan police report, Rith died at a house where people typically gather to drink.
The report mentioned that Rith and his companions had a bottle of herbal wine and consumed it with dried fish as an appetiser.
After about five minutes of drinking, Rith fell unconscious and subsequently passed away.
Bakan police chief Neang Vuth stated that upon receiving the report, police visited the scene and found no evidence of wine poisoning.
He speculated that the man may have succumbed to a heart attack due to excessive wine consumption.
He further noted that two other individuals who had been drinking with Rith showed no signs of poisoning. The police have confiscated the wine for laboratory analysis.
Pursat has experienced a significant number of cases involving rice wine poisoning.
In 2021, 13 individuals tragically lost their lives due to wine poisoning, while nearly 100 others were fortunate to be rescued from similar incidents in the province’s Krakor district.
