Alcohol serves as an escape for people who want to forget the burdens of real life. Troublesome environments lead to huge and unbearable psychological pressures.
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JAKARTA, KOMPAS – Alcohol serves as an escape for people who want to forget the burdens of real life. Troublesome environments lead to huge and unbearable psychological pressures.
As of Tuesday (10/4/2018), 51 have died from drinking bootleg liquor in Bandung city, Bandung regency and Sukabumi regency in West Java. Dozens of others are receiving hospital treatment. Similar cases were found in Jakarta, Bekasi, Depok and Tangerang last week.
National Police forensics laboratory testing found that the bootleg liquor in circulation in Jakarta contained ethanol and methanol. This was announced by South Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Indra Jafar on Tuesday. Indra said the police found traces of methanol and ethanol in the people who died, based on an autopsy and testing of liquid samples.
Ethanol has an inebriating effect. However, mixing it with methanol is highly dangerous as it affects the lungs and respiratory system. “Based on the autopsy and toxicology tests, the ethanol led to suffocation,” Indra said on Tuesday.
The number of deaths is just the tip of the iceberg, as experts believe that there are many more consumers of bootleg liquor. “Alcohol is an escape from problems, stress and desperation,” researcher Rahmat Hidayat said on Tuesday. Rahmat works at the Public Mental Health Center of Gadjah Mada University’s School of Psychology in Yogyakarta.
Many things can lead to such problems, such as economic pressures, difficulties in finding a job, the lack of a social safety net, domestic disharmony and unrealized dreams.
Concern on urban centers
Maranatha University psychologist Efni Indriani said, in reflection of the recent cases, urban areas with a dense population should be the main concern. With less than ideal law enforcement, economic pressures may lead people to mingle with the wrong crowd and this can have a major influence on their behaviour.
“The challenge is big. Mingling with the wrong crowd does not only happen in person but can also happen through technology. People may wish to exist on social media or look macho as they get drunk in front of their friends. This can lead to a high number of cases [like the recent ones],” she said.
Indonesian Institute of Sciences cultural sociologist Anas Saidi said the death of working-age people because of bootleg liquor was driven more by the desire to try new things. “They can be stressed and have limited access to do positive things,” he said.
Anas explained that bootleg liquor was especially popular among lower-class people. The fact that the people who died were mostly of working age tells us two things.
First is that their lives were filled with pressures. “Second is that their young age makes them more perceptible of competing with one another in showing their reckless bravery,” Anas said.
Kompas’ investigation finds that in recent decades there have been numerous cases of people dying from drinking bootleg liquor. In March 1995, for instance, 11 people died in Karanganyar and Solo after consuming liquor that contained ethanol, which contained 96 percent alcohol (Kompas, 23/3/1995).
In October 2003, four died and eight were hospitalized in Setiadarma village, Tambun district, Bekasi regency. They had consumed bootleg ginseng liquor purchased at a herbal drink kiosk in the village (Kompas, 17/10/2003).
Lower class
In Bandung, it is reported that dozens are still receiving intensive care at a number of hospitals. The number of patients is expected to rise. “The buyers are mostly people from the middle and lower classes. The price [of bootleg liquor] is relatively low,” West Java Police narcotics investigation chief Sr. Comr. Enggar Pareanom said in Cicalengka Regional General Hospital (RSUD) in Bandung regency on Tuesday.
The police have named two suspects in the case, identified only as JS and HM. They sold bootleg liquor on Jl. Raya Bandung-Garut. The supplier, identified only as C, is still at large.
One of the 51 dead was Dina, 29, from Warung Peuteuy hamlet in Tenjolaya village, Cicalengka, the only female victim in Bandung regency. She died at RSUD Cicalengka on Saturday. The day before, she had complained about a stomachache. It is believed that the people who died consumed bootleg liquor mixed with mosquito repellent lotion, cough syrup and methanol, similar to a phenomenon in the 1990s.
Dina was living with her mother Ani, 59, in a 42-square-meter home in a densely populated area. Ani is a textile shop worker in Bandung. She had been busy with work and had no idea that her fourth daughter was consuming bootleg liquor.
AR, 28, another Cicalengka resident who is still being treated at a hospital, said he had consumed bootleg liquor for the past three years. Its low price was the reason why AR continued to drink it. “It’s only RP 20,000 [US$1.46] per bottle. Recently, it had even gone down to Rp 15,000. I mixed the ginseng drink with tuak [local alcoholic drink] before drinking it,” AR said.