SINGAPORE – It is sobering news for drinkers after newspapers reported that counterfeiters in China drilled pinholes in the bottles of moutai to refill them with knock-off liquor.

Moutai, a colourless sorghum-based spirit, is known as the national liquor of China.

Recently, a batch of this liquor was seized for investigations by the authorities in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province.

In a WeChat post on Dec 12, the Hangzhou Gongshu Market Superintend Management Bureau said one of its regulatory offices received a report from a merchant who suspected that the 95 bottles of Kweichow Flying Fairy Moutai he bought were not authentic.

The bottles were valued at 250,000 yuan (S$47,200), it added.

Officers randomly inspected five cases that had a total of 30 bottles and found traces of holes hidden behind the labels on the back of the bottles.

The moutai distillery was contacted to appraise the liquor. Out of the 95 bottles, 76 were found to be counterfeits. Pinholes as thick as a hair were discovered in these bottles.

The appraisers from the distillery told China Consumer News that the counterfeiters first removed the labels before using professional equipment to drill a 0.2mm hole.

After the liquor switch was made, the holes were plugged with porcelain powder and covered by the label.

Lianhe Zaobao reported on Dec 13 that according to investigations, this batch of counterfeit moutai was bought from door-to-door salesmen by a company in Ningbo, a city in Zhejiang province. It was then supplied to the merchant who made the report.

The Ningbo police have arrested two suspects and investigations are under way, the Chinese-language daily reported.