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The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has apologised “unreservedly” to the families of two Australian teenagers who died of methanol poisoning in Laos, saying it failed to keep them informed about court proceedings that resulted in $185 fines for 10 people.
The devastated Melbourne parents described the court outcome as a betrayal and beyond comprehension, and said they felt abandoned by Canberra after learning about the court case and its outcome from British authorities.
Melbourne teenagers Holly Morton-Bowles and Bianca Jones, both 19, were among several foreign tourists who died after unknowingly drinking alcohol contaminated with lethal methanol in the tourist hub of Vang Vieng in November 2024.
The pair fell ill at the Nana Backpacker Hostel, which authorities believe was the source of a mass poisoning that killed six, including travellers from the UK, the US and Denmark.
On January 29, 10 people were convicted in a Laotian court over destruction of evidence and handed suspended sentences along with fines equal to $185 – penalties that Morton-Bowles’ and Jones’ parents, Samantha Morton and Shaun Bowles and Mark and Michelle Jones, described as “extraordinarily weak” and an “insult”. The details of the suspended sentences are not known.
Mark Jones said the families were blindsided and the legal outcome had made “an unbearable grief even worse”.
“We were shocked by the absolute injustice for our girls and the others,” Jones said.
“We have had no correspondence with anyone from the Laos government. We had no idea the court case was going ahead. Our beautiful girls, and the other victims, deserve justice at a bare minimum, and a $185 fine is hardly justice.”
The grieving parents say they were never formally told about the January 29 court case by Australian authorities, instead being contacted by Sue White, the mother of British victim Simone White, whose government had received details of the proceedings.
No one has been charged over the teenagers’ deaths. After a 20-day appeal period, the 10 people charged with evidence-related offences could be free to leave Laos.
Jones said the status of a separate case linked to a local distillery remained unclear.
He said he understood Laotian authorities could be difficult to deal with diplomatically, but questioned why other governments appeared to receive updates on the case before Australia.
“The Danish and UK governments are getting information and our government just seems to be quite reactive,” he said.
“Our government doesn’t seem to be able to get information. We feel abandoned.”
The families of the six victims have described the close yet tragic bond they have, speaking every three weeks to share information as they continue the search for answers.
Jones said the last update he had received from Australian officials was in late January when he was told Australia’s ambassador to Laos, Megan Jones, was meeting with local officials to clarify information shared by the Danish government.
Late on Monday night, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade issued a statement saying it “apologises unreservedly” for failing to keep the families informed.
“The Department prides itself in its commitment to consular service and to ensuring that the interests of consular clients and their families are paramount,” the statement said. “On this occasion, we fell short of our aspiration.”
Morton-Bowles’ father said the modest fines were an insult to his daughter’s life and he wanted justice for her and her best friend, Bianca Jones.
“It was incredibly disappointing but at the same time not surprising considering the way the Laos government has treated us over the past 14 months,” Shaun Bowles said. “They seem to just want to have it done and show that people have been held accountable and be done with it. But that’s not justice.”
Bowles said the evidence-tampering conviction should lead investigators further.
“But I struggle to see from here how we will get the justice our girls deserve.”
As well as accountability in Laos, both fathers called for stronger action from the Australian government, including an immediate diplomatic intervention from Canberra to pressure authorities to provide a formal explanation of the investigation and court proceedings.
“How are the Danish and English governments getting to talk to these people, and we are not getting information from our government?” Bowles said.
“We feel let down by our own government. They have failed our families. They have not been able to get basic answers, they have not applied meaningful pressure, and they have allowed our daughters’ deaths to be quietly brushed aside.
“We are out of options. We have done as much as we can; the only people that can do any more for us are our government.”
Morton-Bowles and Bianca Jones both would have turned 21 this year – birthdays their families will mark without them.
Mark Jones said he wants people to remember the pair as “beautiful, funny, intelligent and engaging young women”, rather than the circumstances of their deaths.
“We are never going to see them graduate from university, get married or have babies, if that’s what they wanted to do,” he said. “We want people to smile when they remember them.”
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Morton-Bowles’ and Bianca Jones’ families had endured an unimaginable loss and the Australian government was doing everything to support them in their pursuit of justice.
“I have made it clear to my Lao counterpart that Australia expects full accountability,” Wong said. “I have also made it clear that charges should reflect the seriousness of the tragedy which left six people dead including Holly and Bianca.
“We continue to press Lao authorities on the cases relating to Holly and Bianca’s deaths, and we will continue to support Holly and Bianca’s families at this distressing time.”
Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Senator Michaelia Cash called on the Albanese government to immediately explain why it did not keep the families informed about the case.
“It’s a disgrace that Holly and Bianca’s families found out about the outcome of a case in relation to their daughters’ deaths through information from a foreign government,” she said.
“These sentences appear to be manifestly inadequate.”
The Laotian embassy in Canberra has been contacted for comment.
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