Illegal booze kills dozens

TWO dozen Indonesians have died after drinking bootleg alcohol, police said yesterday, marking the latest in a string of deaths linked to homemade liquor sold in the Muslim-majority country.

A shop owner in Jakarta was arrested for selling the illegal booze at his herbal drink stall, authorities said, with 16 deaths reported since Monday around the sprawling capital and the remaining eight fatalities were in Papua.

In 2016 at least 36 people died in Central Java after drinking locally-bought homebrew.