VZCZCXRO8247
RR RUEHLMC RUEHVK
DE RUEHUM #0013/01 0100031
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 100031Z JAN 08
FM AMEMBASSY ULAANBAATAR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1796
INFO RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 3125
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0249
RUEHML/AMEMBASSY MANILA 1593
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 5936
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 1679
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 2820
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 0428
RUEHVK/AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK 0212
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 2054
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/HQ EPA WASHINGTON DC 0034
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHINGTON DC
RUEHPH/CDC ATLANTA GA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ULAANBAATAR 000013 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/CM and EAP/EX 
BANGKOK FOR USAID RDMA 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: ECON SOCI PGOV CASC MG
SUBJECT: Poisoned Vodka Continues to Plague Mongolia 
 
Ref: Ulaanbaatar 006 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION. 
 
¶1. (SBU) As of January 9, 2008, the death toll from the New Year's 
holiday episode (reftel) has risen from 11 to 14 people and over 70 
remain hospitalized out of the 130-plus persons affected by drinking 
methanol-tainted vodkas produced by "Aziin Chono" or Asian Wolf (AW) 
Company.  Six local policemen from the affected city of Baganuur, 
who have worked on this case, were hospitalized after reportedly 
being poisoned by methanol spirits condensation while destroying 
confiscated vodka bottles. The official ban on the sale of all 
alcohol remains in effect until January 20, although the ban on beer 
was lifted yesterday. In an ironic but predictable twist, the dearth 
of available alcohol has led to a drop in the crime rate, declining 
to half or one-third the usual rate compared to the same period last 
year, according to Mongolia's General Police Department. (Note: 
Fender-benders and dealing with inebriated persons are listed as 
"crimes" in Mongolia, which help explain the reduced crime rate. 
 
Fake Vodkas, Some Dangerous, Remain On Sale 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Police have announced that some 1,000 bottles of vodkas 
made from methanol spirits remained unaccounted for with a police 
search of family homes in the affected city of Baganuur turning up 
only eight bottles. According to officials, AW Company bottled 40 
methanol-containing spirits under the respected vodka brand "Black 
Chinggis" but police have so far only located four of them (Note: 
Cheap AW vodkas are sometimes re-labeled and re-sold under 
different, pricier labels for greater profit). 
 
Complaints about GOM Alcohol Sales Ban Grow 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Manufactures, distributors, and bar-owners are howling 
complaints about the extended ban on alcohol sales.  Many cafes, 
bars, and karaoke clubs have either closed for the duration or 
severally curtailed hours because they cannot sell alcohol, the 
mainstay of their businesses.  Anecdotes of quiet streets empty of 
cars as well as the absence of drunks have become more common. 
Alcohol distributors and manufactures have yet to feel a pinch in 
their bottom line, but opine that they can see no reason for the 
across-the-board ban on all alcohol sales - including all spirits 
from all sources foreign and domestic -- when the problem is 
localized with a single manufacturer whose products have been 
largely removed from the market. 
 
¶4. (SBU) One obviously frustrated executive of a major Mongolian 
vodka producer told Econoff that the ban was actually 
counter-productive as it has only led to increased sales of 
home-made (read "dangerous") moonshine-like spirits to meet the high 
demand for alcohol. One press report stated that Mongolians consume 
24 liters of vodka per person every year. The reality, according to 
local experts, may be closer to 17 liters per capita. MCS Group, for 
example, which claims 50% of the vodka market in Mongolia, sells 24 
million bottles of vodka each year, about 8.5 bottles per person. 
 
COMMENT: GOM Acting Out of Abundance of Caution 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶5. (SBU) The GOM's response is typical for public health crises. 
The GOM treats such events just as it treats outbreaks of new 
diseases in Mongolia.  The approach is to shut down everything for 
an indeterminate or longish period of time until the problem is 
understood and perceived by authorities to be under control.  For 
example, in the summer of 1996, the GOM banned all transport in and 
out Ulaanbaatar because of a cholera outbreak. In 2003 severely 
limited access into Mongolia and buildings to combat SARS.  In both 
cases the blanket approaches defied professional advice from 
health-care professionals, and imposed strains on daily life far in 
excess of any prevention benefits obtained. In both instances, the 
 
ULAANBAATA 00000013  002 OF 002 
 
 
general populace endured with few complaints, but it took complaints 
from a severely impacted populace and business community to budge 
officials into accepting a less panicky reality. 
 
¶6. (SBU) The current situation mirrors the past in all respects. 
The GOM's excessive, knee-jerk approach has impacted Mongolian life 
at all levels -- employment is down because of bar closures, public 
and private revenues are declining because sales are down, and at 
this point businesses and the affected individuals are beginning to 
complain more and more vociferously.  As with past cases, the GOM is 
beginning to calm down and listen.  MCS Group, the brewer of Tiger 
Beer in Mongolia, reports that the GOM is allowing it and other 
manufactures to distribute and sell beer again, because the GOM 
accepts that beer is not a problem, although this point was clear 
within a couple of days of the initial episode of vodka methanol 
poisoning.  However, MCS looks forward to January 20, when it can 
sell its vodka again.  Although loathe to discuss specifics, MCS 
notes that Mongolia's vodka trade is very competitive and margins 
are tight; and so, any reduction of volume can impact firms such as 
MCS greatly. END COMMENT. 
 
 
Goldbeck