Six backpackers, including Australian teenagers Holly Bowles and Bianca Jones from Melbourne, died from methanol poisoning in Laos during November 2024. Authorities in Laos are reportedly preparing to pursue only minor criminal charges against those allegedly responsible for providing the contaminated alcohol.

The proposed penalties—reportedly capped at one year imprisonment and fines around $1,600—have triggered substantial diplomatic and personal responses. Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong summoned the Laotian ambassador to communicate the government's frustration with the approach, whilst the families of deceased victims have expressed their anger at what they view as grossly inadequate accountability for the deaths.