The grieving Australian families of teenage best friends who died after drinking methanol-laced alcohol in Laos say they were blindsided to hear those responsible for a related death were sentenced in a secret trial.

Bianca Jones and Holly Morton-Bowles, both 19, were backpacking through Laos when their trip took a tragic turn.

The pair, from Melbourne’s bayside suburbs, were fatally poisoned with methanol while drinking on a night out at Nana Backpackers Hostel in Vang Vieng.

At least six foreigners died during the mass poisoning event in November 2024, including British woman Simone White, a US tourist and two young Danish women.

More than a year later, the girls’ fathers, Shaun Bowles and Mark Jones, say “inaction” from Laos’ government and lack of communication from Australian authorities has made their grief worse.

The men said they were relying on a group chat with White’s family for updates provided by the UK government. That’s how they learned 10 people connected to the hostel faced court in January and were fined $185 for destroying evidence.

Those involved were also given suspended sentences, according to the group chat.

“We’ve been in touch with the government yesterday and last night and what we’re … asking them to do is to step up and and represent our girls in the way that they deserve to be represented,” Bowles told Nine’s Today program on Tuesday.

“Because we just we’re out of options. It’s pretty devastating.”

While the men initially believed the court case was linked to the deaths of their daughters, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed that the destruction of evidence charges related only to the death of the American tourist.

DFAT has unreservedly apologised to the families for failing to keep it informed about the court outcome.

“The department prides itself in its commitment to consular service and to ensuring that the interests of consular clients and their families are paramount,” it said.

“On this occasion, we fell short of our aspiration.”

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong said she had made it clear to her Lao counterpart that Australia expected “full accountability” and stressed charges should reflect the seriousness of the tragedy.

“We continue to press Lao authorities on the cases relating to Holly and Bianca’s deaths, and we will continue to support Holly and Bianca’s families at this distressing time,” she said.

The Laotian government previously vowed to “bring the perpetrators to justice in accordance with the law”.

-AAP