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JAKARTA, Indonesia — Fourteen young Indonesian men have died after drinking a cheap, home-brewed alcoholic cocktail, police said Monday.
The men, in their 20s and 30s, began dying after consuming a mix of 90 percent alcohol, vanilla, ginseng and honey, said police chief Benone Jesada in East Semarang, Central Java province.
"They started drinking last Friday and started dying Saturday," he said, adding that another man was in critical condition at a local hospital.The seller has been detained for questioning by police who were trying to determine the precise cause of death.
Sales of commercial alcohol are heavily taxed in Indonesia, the world’s most-populous Muslim nation, making it too expensive for most people. The restrictions have resulted in a huge black market for wine and spirits.
