Three suspects were detained Thursday for allegedly producing a highly toxic liquor that left four dead and 12 others hospitalized in central China's Hubei province, local police said.

Two villagers were reported dead Monday and another two died Tuesday in Wufeng County, Yichang City. The victims were poisoned after drinking bulk baijiu, a grain alcohol made by a local privately-run workshop, police said.

The workshop owner Wang Changbing, 33, his brother-in-law Qin Changjiang, 26, and Wang's driver Tang Yongfeng, 33, were detained.

Wang confessed that he made 65,000 kg of liquor, using 3,740 kg of methanol, a highly toxic form of alcohol for industrial use. About 3,500 kg of liquor were sold, according to the police.

Tests showed the amount of methanol in the deadly liquor is as much as 500 times of normal levels.

The county government has issued a notice telling local residents not to drink bulk distilled spirit and also notified neighboring counties of the case.

The government said that about 3,360 kg of the toxic liquor has been recalled from the market and that all the 12 villagers that were hospitalized were in stable conditions.

(Xinhua News Agency March 27, 2009)