"Bianca Jones and Holly Morton-Bowles, both 19, were killed by methanol poisoning along with four other tourists after a night out at the Nana backpackers hostel in Vang Vieng, a popular tourist destination in Laos, in November 2024. More than a year later, the girls' fathers, Shaun Bowles and Mark Jones, said they were relying on a group chat with the families of the victims, started by parents of British lawyer Simone White, for updates provided by the UK government."
"That's how they learned 10 people connected to the hostel faced court in January and were fined $185 and given a suspended sentence for destroying evidence. We were shocked by the absolute injustice for our girls and the others, Jones told 9News. We have had no correspondence with anyone from the Laos government. We had no idea the court case was going ahead."
"Because we just we're out of options. It's pretty devastating. The department has apologised to the families for failing to keep it informed about the court outcome. The department prides itself in its commitment to consular service and to ensuring that the interests of consular clients and their families are paramount, it said. On this occasion, we fell short of our aspiration."
Bianca Jones and Holly Morton-Bowles, both 19, died from methanol poisoning with four other tourists after drinking at the Nana backpackers hostel in Vang Vieng in November 2024. Families learned via a group chat and UK government updates that 10 people connected to the hostel faced court in January and received $185 fines and suspended sentences for destroying evidence. The fines related to the death of an American tourist, not the two Australians. Families say they were blindsided and had no contact from the Laos government. The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade apologised for failing to inform the families.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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