Phnom Penh: An investigation has revealed that the three young women who died in Phnom Penh last week, had been drinking rice wine containing a lethal amount of methanol. Laboratory analysis shows the wine had up to 88 times the permitted level of the substance.

It was in a rented room close to Aeon Mall in Phnom Penh’s Tonle Bassac commune that two of the three victims were found. Already sick, Ka and Thavy had been left by their friend Phai, who went to fetch medicine from her hometown across the river. She never made it back. Police say the three had drunk 11 bottles of the “Meas Hong” brand rice wine. They started drinking them on Tuesday. They began feeling ill on the Wednesday. They were all dead on Thursday morning.

An unfinished bottle was found at the scene and taken for analysis by the General Directorate of Consumer Protection. The sample showed the presence of Methanol, a cheap and highly-toxic substance used to boost alcohol content and profits. The Department has since inspected “Meas Hong Gold Processing” in the capital’s BKK 3 Commune. Processed wine and equipment have been seized. The product has now been banned.