‘Not good enough’: Laos poisoning families fear there will be no justice for their daughters

The parents of the Australian teenagers who died of alcohol poisoning in Laos have made a plea for stronger action and more information from South-East Asian country popular with backpackers.

Nineteen-year-old best friends Holly Morton-Bowles and Bianca Jones died in November after inadvertently drinking alcohol laced with lethal methanol at Vang Vieng.

Holly Morton-Bowles and Bianca Jones died of methanol poisoning in Laos.Credit: 60 Minutes

Since then, their grieving Melbourne parents, Samantha Morton and Shaun Bowles and Mark and Michelle Jones, have been holding on for the results of an investigation into their deaths promised by the Laotian government.

In a complaint echoed by families in other countries, the Australians say they are upset at a lack of engagement from Laotian authorities who have made no direct contact with the families and refused to meet them, citing the ongoing investigation.

“I cannot have my daughter’s passing not mean anything. Surely, the Laos government needs to make a strong stance against this to protect what is one of their biggest industries, to ensure that travellers from Australia, from anywhere, that are going to their country are protected from this,” Mark says.

The methanol poisoning occurred at the Nana Backpacker’s Hostel, where the young women consumed the hostel’s free whisky and vodka shots.

Grieving parents Mark Jones, Samantha Morton, Shaun Bowles and Michelle Jones.Credit: 60 Minutes

The Laotian government released a statement in November expressing “sincere sympathy and deepest condolences to the families of the deceased”.

Days later, a letter, obtained by 60 Minutes, was sent to Foreign Minister Penny Wong saying a “thorough investigation” was under way into the incident “to bring the perpetrators to justice”.

It also passed on its condolences to the Melbourne parents through the Australian Federal Police but Holly’s dad, Shaun Bowles, said there had been no direct contact.

“For them not to reach out, that’s just not good enough,” he said, adding the families were desperate for answers on how such a tragedy could happen.

“People have died and someone’s responsible. So we absolutely want to know how and who is responsible for it.”

The same anger and frustration is echoed in Britain and Denmark.

Danish friends Anne-Sofie Orkild Coyman, 20, and Freja Sorensen, 21, American traveller James Hutson, 57, and English citizen Simone White, 28, also died.

White’s close friend, Bethany Clarke, told 60 Minutes both had unknowingly consumed drinks tainted with methanol and both fell ill the next morning.

Clarke said she had the same number of vodka shots as White and knows how close she came to death.

Bethany Clarke and Simone White.Credit: 60 Minutes

“Yeah, could’ve easily been me,” she said. “I think we’ve just had to try and get through the funeral and obviously, we want to try and spread awareness and make sure other people don’t have to go through this. And then I can sort of start on my own journey of trying to come to terms with it all.”

Sue White, whose daughter Simone died in the mass methanol poisoning, said: “There’s literally been no communication at all for us to know what’s happening over in Laos. It’s been just terrible.”

Didier Coyman, whose daughter Anne-Sofie and her friend, Freja, died, said he felt stonewalled by Laotian officials, having travelled to the country to identify and collect his daughter’s body.

The Danish families had earlier launched a long-distance search for the pair after they failed to meet a fellow backpacker and there was no word from the girls for three days. They did not know their daughters were already dead.

Anne-Sofie Orkild Coyman and Freja Sorensen.Credit: 60 Minutes

Didier said that despite having passports and contact details, police did not bother to notify Didier or Freja’s parents, Karsten and Rikke Sorensen.

Didier said he felt compelled to remind officials at November meetings of the importance of the lives that had been lost.

“And I said, ‘I hope you understand what I’m feeling here. We’re not talking about numbers and papers and names. We are talking about people, about two young girls who innocently just went to your country and wanted to have a good time’,” he said.

“So basically, I’m trying to really reach out to their heart and just stop that charade, that circus, honestly, because that’s what I felt it was.”

The 60 Minutes team had an assurance from the Laotian government that a crew could travel to the country, but visas were denied shortly before they were to depart Australia. All requests for interviews were refused.

Mark Jones said the families feared the investigation wasn’t being taken seriously and were concerned no one would be held accountable.

“Confident? No. We’ve heard nothing. So I can’t be confident about anything. Yeah, confident would be a gross overstatement. Hoping,” he said.

“We want some form of closure. We want to understand that people who have done wrong by our daughter and Holly and the other people are going to be brought to justice.”

Shaun Bowles said he just wanted to look after his family and find a path forward.

“We’ll get to that one day. But the longer it goes on, the quicker my hope diminishes of something happening. That’s for sure.”

Watch the full story on 60 Minutes, Sunday at 8.40pm on Channel Nine.

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