The Tangerang District Court resumed Wednesday the trial of Prita Mulyasari, the housewife facing defamation charges for complaining about the service she had received at Omni International Hospital.
Prita had earlier been acquitted of defaming the hospital by complaining to friends by email, but the Banten High Court overruled the decision after prosecutors appealed.
The panel of judges at the district court, headed by Arthur Hangewa, heard testimonies from three witnesses: Hengky Gosal, the doctor who treated Prita between Aug. 7-12 last year; Dr. Grace, the hospital's customer service manager, and their lawyer, Reinold Valentino Panjaitan.
The hearing came up with several claims made by witnesses which mostly were denied by Prita.
In his testimony, Hengky told the court he had examined two blood samples from Prita and had accordingly noted a change in her thrombocyte count from 27,000 to 181,000.
However, Prita denied the claim, saying the doctor had only taken her blood sample once, and had given it the higher reading.
Hengky also said he had diagnosed Prita with suspected dengue fever, but Prita said the initial diagnosis was that she had confirmed dengue fever.
Both also sparred over Prita's health condition on Aug. 12, 2008.
Hengky said Prita had been improving, while Prita said her condition had worsened, forcing her to seek a second opinion from the Bintaro International Hospital (RSIB).
She added that as soon as she was admitted to RSIB, doctors diagnosed her with mumps and placed her in an isolation ward.
Dr. Grace, meanwhile, said the hospital had been unable to let Prita see the test results that showed her thrombocyte count was at 27,000, because the record was invalid.
"The thrombocyte record was invalid and therefore we did not give it out," she said.
"We feared the report would be misleading."
Judge Arthur said the alleged defamation was triggered by the hospital's refusal to release the medical record of the thrombocyte count, which Prita had the right to see.
"Prita was shocked to hear the doctor say her thrombocyte count had dropped to 27,000, and so agreed to be treated," he said.
"But the next morning, her thrombocyte count was revised to 181,000. That drastic change left her questioning and curious to see the initial lab report."
A month after the Tangerang District Court acquitted Prita, the Banten High Court ordered it to reopen the case, saying its verdict had failed to "touch on the substantive material of the case".
