A heartbroken relatives of a woman who passed away beside her fiance after drinking contaminated homemade beverage say they are determined for justice.
The victim, in her thirties, and the man, 36, were discovered deceased on Boxing Day in the tourist destination, the Southeast Asian country, as a outcome of toxic alcohol consumption.
Hours earlier, Greta had texted her parents, her relatives, to say she had "the worst ill feeling ever" and was going to lie down, but she never woke up.
The barman who reportedly prepared the drink was detained in last winter and is being held while under investigation. The parents explain they have had no further updates from the authorities.
"This is about accountability," stated Paul, adding: "We cannot find closure."
Toxic alcohol is a form of alcohol commonly found in cleaning products, gasoline and coolants.
It is comparable to drinking alcohol, which is safe for alcoholic drinks, but it is less expensive and far deadlier to humans as a result of the way it is processed by the human system.
At the family's house in their village, the Welsh county, a pair of containers remain next to the steps – the first has a stuffed animal sitting on top, the second, a plush bear.
The containers hold the couple's cremated remains.
"They sit in the lounge with us," shared the father, a retired project manager. "We want to lay them to peace, but we believe we can't do that until we get a satisfactory resolution."
Greta had been staying in the Vietnamese city with the man, her foreign boyfriend of approximately two years, where the couple ran a accommodation leasing spaces to travellers.
She was an single daughter, remembered by her dad as "amazing", a "adventurous person" and a "dedicated individual" who educated herself in Wales, Paris and Los Angeles.
During late 2024, Greta's dad, 71 and Greta's mum, seventy, had journeyed to Southeast Asia, meeting their future son-in-law for the very first moment, and the couple announced their planned marriage not long afterwards.
"It was heartwarming – the family were so joyful," recalled Paul, who pictured the man as "calm but very bright" and someone he "had hoped to have as a son in law."
During their trip, the family dined a several times at a local restaurant, a popular Italian restaurant, where they liked the meals and were given free servings of house-made lemon liqueur at the finish.
Some weeks later, when the parents had departed their trip and were thinking to choose a seasonal offering for the young couple, they remembered the eatery and its products of limoncello and chose to order a couple of them for shipping to their daughter's house.
That choice was a action that would have the heartbreaking consequences.
After hours of trying the drink, Greta contacted her family on December 25 to say she had a awful hangover and was noticing vision issues but brushed off recommendations from her parents, and a acquaintance who had stopped by, to obtain medical help.
The pair were found dead in individual rooms of the home on Boxing Day. Soon later, the parents were on a plane to the country.
Greta's dad remembered the widespread social media speculation that followed as well as the struggle to handle the formalities of dealing with a loss in a foreign country.
Later quickly before autopsies confirmed the victims had passed away from lethal toxic ingestion.
During February, investigators detained a bartender who was employed in a venue in Hoi An for "breaking rules on edible items" by "using repurposed high-proof medical grade spirit, combined with H2O, citrus rind and sweetener to create multiple containers of the drink."
As per Vietnamese legal codes, the crime could result in a potential jail time of seven to 15 years.
Numerous of people are poisoned by toxic alcohol every year in the region, according to charity organizations.
The couple's deaths came only days after multiple people died of toxic consumption in Southeast Asia, a territory which borders Vietnam.
The parents were warned investigations take a long time in the country, with the possibility of a accused being kept for a extended period before being charged or freed.
Her parents said the period for resolution was becoming unbearable.
"We just want closure," emphasized Paul. "The family are stuck. Greta's mother says to me daily when we wake up, 'any news? Is there news?' I have to say 'not yet, no progress so far'."
"This situation is about accountability," he continued. "Justice for us would be naming the parties responsible and charging them."
The parents said they also felt "deeply disturbed" the business where they had requested the limoncello was still open and had not formally apologised.
"The management just continued as if no incident has happened," said Greta's parent.
For Paul and Susan, the grief is still very fresh.
Paul