VIVAnews - Following the death of 13 Yogyakarta natives after drinking homemade cocktail called “lapen”, which is allegedly mixed with mosquito repellent lotion and durian, the police detained 5 sellers of the deathly liquor.
Three sellers, Gunawan Rejo (49), Agung Budiantoro (39), Mugiman (54) have been named suspects while two others, Sudiyono (49) and Sakti Darminto (52) are still being intensively questioned.
“It’s not possible to also name these two suspects,“ Yogyakarta Police Criminal Investigation Unit Chief, Comm. Syaiful Anwar said on Sunday, February 14.
According to him, death toll from the cocktail consumption has risen from 9 to 13.
The victims include Kalis (53) Yulistyo (50) Ratno (46) Slamet Suprihatin (39) Marsudi (55) Ofisiana (38) Eko (30) Toni (19) Ardiansah (30) Joko Purnomo (23) and Sidik (20) Andiyanto (19) and Sumanto (28).
Anwar also said his team has sent the drink sample to the Yogyakarta Food and Drugs Supervision Agency (BPOM) to be tested in the laboratory. They are still waiting for the results.
“Because some victims were coming from Bantul, we are also coordinating with Bantul police to work on this case,” he said.
Sudiyono said his homemade cocktail was not supposed to kill his customers because he did not include any dangerous substance.
“They probably bought ‘lapen’ and mixed it with something else. That’s what probably killed them,” he said.
He also explained the ingredients of the drink, which consist of 95.8 percent of alcohol, mineral water, sugar, seasonings and a bit of sweetening agents.
“The alcohol is 1.5 to 2 liters, mixed with 15 liters of mineral water. The sugar is only 1 kilogram while the seasoning and the sweetener are only a few,” he said.
Sudiyono also pointed out how he made the drink. He first mixed the water with sugar and put in the seasoning. Afterwards, he poured in the alcohol and the sweetener.
After being capped and kept for 12 hours, the drink is ready to be consumed.
“I’ve been selling ‘lapen’ for years and there hasn’t been any trouble until now. I’m sure that my cocktail is safe,” he said, adding that he bought the pure alcohol from one of the chemical store in Malioboro.
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Coverage by: KDW| Yogyakarta
Translated by: Nataya Ermanti
