East Jakarta Police raided an abortion clinic Friday in Cakung, East Jakarta, following an investigation into the death of a Malaysian woman there
ast Jakarta Police raided an abortion clinic Friday in Cakung, East Jakarta, following an investigation into the death of a Malaysian woman there.
Police arrested Lusi, a midwife who allegedly ran the illegal practice, as well as her two assistants from the clinic.
"We received information from Persahabatan Hospital that a woman had died after having an abortion," said East Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Hasanuddin.
"Our investigation in the case led us to the midwife."
On Thursday, 27-year-old Alimida binti Zakaria died on the way to Persahabatan Hospital in Rawamangun, East Jakarta.
Hospital officials said she had been brought in from the Setia Abadi medical clinic.
Hasanuddin said she had been bleeding heavily.
"She couldn't hold out, she'd lost a lot of blood," he said.
"The autopsy indicates she'd just an abortion prior to her death. The medical clinic she'd come from likely carried out the abortion, which is illegal."
Police will charge Lusi under the Criminal Code article on murder and the 1992 health law article on unlicensed medical practitioners.
If convicted, she could serve life in prison.
During questioning, Lusi admitted to having treated Alimida three times, saying the Malaysian woman had wanted to get rid of her four-month-old fetus.
"The suspect failed to conduct the abortion at that time, which led to the victim's death," Hasanuddin said.
He added police would expand their investigations to other abortion clinics suspected to be run by Lusi.
Despite having investigated and jailed several people this year for involvement in illegal abortions, the illegal service continues to be widely available.
In March, police raided an abortion clinic in Johar Baru, Central Jakarta, run by a former hospital cleaning service employee named Atun.
She had allegedly run the practice for years and had made billions of rupiah from the business.
Police found dozens of dead fetuses in the clinic's septic tank.
During the investigation, police also uncovered two other abortion clinics - in Koja, North Jakarta, and Tambun, Bekasi - run by Atun.
Under the health law, abortion is illegal unless the pregnancy threatens the mother's life.
A revision of the law, the bill on health, which is being deliberated at the House of Representatives, will allow rape victims to get abortions, as long as they have the approval of a panel of clerics.
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