Grassroots official in Hanoi arrested for producing fake medical alcohol

According to the municipal police department's economic crime unit, Pham Dinh Tuan, vice-chairman of the Chuc Son administration, and his younger brother co-founded Ngan Ha Company to manufacture 70-percent medical alcohol.

However, for profit, Tuan instructed staff to replace ethanol with methanol–a highly toxic industrial solvent.

Authorities have confiscated around 50,000 bottles of counterfeit medical alcohol and sealed the production equipment used in the operation.

The investigation remains ongoing.

The incident came to light after Bach Mai Hospital’s Poison Control Center admitted a 55-year-old man from Hanoi’s Hoang Mai District who was in a coma, suffering from respiratory failure and severe metabolic acidosis.

Blood tests revealed a methanol concentration of 116.63 mg/dL.

An MRI scan showed brain damage, including necrosis and hemorrhaging in the basal ganglia.

According to the patient’s family, he had no history of alcohol use but recently developed a tooth infection and had been using 70-percent alcohol bought from a local pharmacy to rinse and gargle several times a day.

He reportedly used it continuously for an hour, three to four times daily.

Three days before hospitalization, the patient began experiencing poor appetite, dizziness, nausea, and blurred vision.

He was taken to the emergency room at Bach Mai Hospital’s Neurology Center, where tests revealed abnormal blood gas levels.

He gradually lost consciousness, developed dilated pupils, and fell into a coma, requiring mechanical ventilation.

Doctors confirmed that the patient experienced methanol poisoning.

Tests on the alcohol sample revealed it contained 77.5 percent methanol, despite being labeled ‘70-percent ethanol.’

The patient’s prolonged use—especially while having oral wounds—allowed the methanol to be absorbed through mucous membranes and possibly ingested, leading to life-threatening toxicity.

The Poison Control Center warned that similar cases have been reported over the years, with victims often suffering blindness, brain damage, or even fatality.

While ethanol is commonly used for disinfection, methanol is an industrial-grade chemical with poor antiseptic properties and is highly toxic to humans.