Thai moonshine makers arrested again for alcohol poisoning deaths

Two brothers were arrested a second time for allegedly selling rogue moonshine that killed at least eight people in Thailand.

Siblings Surasak and Surachai Insaam, 46 and 44, were detained at a house in a forested area of Ayutthaya province on August 29.

They were first arrested on August 25 for producing and selling illegal liquor, but were granted bail on August 27.

A day later, the Minburi Criminal Court issued warrants for additional charges of attempted murder and food adulteration endangering public health, leading to their second arrest on Thursday.

Police Major General Kiatikul Sonthinen, commander of Metropolitan Police Division 3, said: 'The suspects fled from Bangkok shortly after the warrants were issued. They hid in a forest, where around 50 police officers spent half a day searching until finally finding their house.'

The brothers have denied all charges. They allegedly admitted to diluting the moonshine with ethyl alcohol 'to reduce its alcohol volume' before the tainted batch was distributed.

Customers who drank the contaminated alcohol from 18 street stalls across Bangkok allegedly suffered dizziness, breathing difficulties, and vomiting before being rushed to hospitals on August 22.

The bootleg drinks were traced to a woman named Phatrasa, or Je Poo, who allegedly hired the brothers to make rice whiskey for her.

Speaking at a police press conference on August 26, she said: 'A year ago, I hired two brothers to make rice whiskey for me. The batches they made tasted normal, so I continued ordering from them.

'However, last week, my customers reported that the flavour of the liquor had changed. They said it tasted weaker and fizzier, and seemed to have a lower alcohol content.

'I called the brothers to ask if they had changed the ingredients, but they refused to tell me, only saying they had improved it.

'When I tasted the latest batch of liquor, I had a little diarrhoea, but it wasn't serious. Later, I found out that someone had died from drinking it and I was very shocked. I couldn't believe it could happen. I didn't understand how it could happen because I had been doing it for a long time. I felt guilty and sorry. I didn't want to kill anyone. I want to help the victims because one of the deceased was my friend.'

She said the brothers were her husband's cousins. She added she bought the alcohol from them for 900 baht per 25 litres.

The Ministry of Justice said it will pay up to 100,000 baht (2,227 GBP) to the families of the deceased, and up to 40,000 baht (891 GBP) to those injured.