PHNOM PENH, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- The death toll for the people drinking tainted rice wine in central Cambodia's Kampong Chhnang province has risen to seven with 124 other victims hospitalized, Health Ministry's spokeswoman Or Vandine said on Monday.
The incident took place in a rural village in the Teuk Pos district on Saturday when the victims drank the wine, which was suspicious of containing high levels of methanol, at a funeral, she said.
"An investigation conducted by a health ministry's working group found that they had drunk contaminated rice wine during the villager's funeral," she told reporters. "Currently, 90 of the hospitalized patients have recovered and returned home."
Selling rice wine in the province has been temporarily banned after the incident, she said.
Rice wine is popular in Cambodia's rural areas due to its cheap price.
In June, methanol-laced rice wine left seven people dead and more than 30 others hospitalized in northwest Cambodia's Banteay Meanchey province. Enditem
