British lawyer dead in suspected Laos poisoning a ‘kind and loving daughter’, say devastated parents

Simone White, 28, one of six foreign tourists to have died after drinking alcohol believed to have been laced with methanol

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A British lawyer who died of suspected methanol poisoning in a backpacker town in northern Laos was a “beautiful, kind and loving daughter”, her parents said on Friday.
Simone White, 28, is one of six foreign tourists to have died after drinking alcohol believed to have been laced with methanol in Vang Vieng.
Laotian police have launched an investigation into the suspected mass drink-spiking and detained a “number of people”, including the owner and manager of a hostel where some of the victims stayed.
In a statement released on Friday, Neil and Sue White said: “We are devastated by the loss of our beautiful, kind and loving daughter Simone.
“Simone was one of a kind and had the most wonderful energy and spark for life. She was a soul who gave so much to so many and was loved by her family, friends and colleagues.
“Simone has been taken from us too soon, she will be sorely missed by her brother, grandmother and entire family.
“Our hearts go out to all other families who have been affected by this terrible tragedy.”
The Telegraph understands that White, from Orpington in the London borough of Bromley, had travelled to Laos with two school friends.
She became ill after drinking shots believed to have been laced with methanol from a bar in Vang Vieng on Nov 12 and later died in hospital.
White’s mother is understood to have flown to South East Asia last week and returned to the UK on Friday following her daughter’s death.
Bethany Clarke, one of White’s friends and a healthcare worker from Orpington, was also treated in hospital after drinking free shots offered by one of the bars in Vang Vieng.
In a Facebook post, she said her “liver started to shut down” and warned other travellers to “avoid all local spirits”.
White was an associate lawyer in the London office of Squire Patton Boggs, an American law firm. It said: “Simone was a talented colleague with a bright future ahead of her and someone who epitomised our firm values.”
On Friday, Australian tourist Holly Bowles, 19, became the sixth holidaymaker to die, just a day after her best friend Bianca Jones died in a Thai hospital.
The father of Bowles confirmed his daughter’s death. “It is with broken hearts, and we are so sad to say that our beautiful girl Holly is now at peace.”
“We find comfort and solace in knowing that Holly brought so much joy and happiness to so many people,” Shaun Bowles told Nine News.
The two friends, from Melbourne, had been mid-way through a “dream” trip. They had been staying in a hostel in Vang Vieng and visited local bars the night before becoming critically unwell.
Staff at the Nana Backpackers Hostel found them in their room when they failed to leave on time.
The other victims include an American man, believed to be in his 50s, and two Danish women in their 20s.
They are thought to have consumed drinks tainted with methanol, which is a cheaper alternative to the ethanol found in alcoholic drinks but can cause severe poisoning or death.
The Laos government said on Saturday it was “profoundly saddened” by the deaths.
In a statement the government expressed “sincere sympathy and deepest condolences to the families of the deceased”, adding an investigation was under way to find the cause of the incident, which is suspected to be methanol poisoning.
At least 10 others, including more British tourists, became unwell after drinking in the same town.
Some of the ill victims are believed to have been transferred to a hospital in Bangkok.
The Foreign Office said it was assisting other British people who had been poisoned.
It is believed more than 100 guests of the Nana Backpacker Hostel were served free shots of Lao Tiger vodka mixed with ice and Coke Zero on the night of Nov 12.
An officer at Vang Vieng’s Tourism Police office said no charges had been filed but a “number of people” had been detained in connection with the case.
Staff at the hostel, which is still operating but not accepting new guests, confirmed the manager and owner were among those taken in for questioning.