Six prosecuted over lethal liquor scandal

Zlin, South Moravia, Jan 16 (CTK) - Six persons have been prosecuted for endangering the safety of the public within the methanol poisoning case that broke out in September and has claimed 39 lives so far, the supervising state attorneys Roman Kafka and Jiri Zemek told journalists yesterday.

The six persons responsible for the methanol poisoning are two men who mixed the lethal bootleg spirits, the main distributor and three other people who further distributed the alcohol to the Zlin region, northern Moravia and eastern Bohemia.

Five of the six suspects have been taken into custody.

The perpetrators may be sent to 20 or even more years in prison if their guilt is proved.

Kafka said the police have accused 32 persons within the main part of the criminal case whose investigation may last further four or five months.

The state attorneys will not provide any further information on the case to the public until the completion of the investigation, they said.

According to the police, it is possible that some 5000 litres of methanol still may be revealed.

National bans of hard liquor sales and exports were temporarily imposed in the Czech Republic last September. The police needed about two weeks to discover the source of the poisoned bootleg alcohol in late September.