T

he Constitutional Court (MK) on Monday delivered a verdict securing the public'€™s right to file complaints with law enforcement authorities over alleged criminal acts committed by doctors, rejecting a judicial review request challenging the 2004 Medical Practice Law previously filed by a doctors association.

The Indonesian Doctors Union (DIB) filed a judicial review petition in January last year with the court against Law No. 29/2004 on medical practice, claiming that Article 66 of the law had provided room for broad interpretations of
malpractice.

DIB said that the interpretations could lead to legal uncertainty for the medical profession and raise fears among doctors.

'€œThe court completely rejects the judicial review appeal,'€ chief justice Arief Hidayat said as he read out the verdict on Monday, adding that the judicial review request had no legal grounds.

He said that filing medical complaints through criminal or civil procedures was necessary to protect the rights of patients from mistreatment by doctors. '€œIt is aimed at securing the rights of patients,'€ he said.

Arief further said that imposing ethical, disciplinary and legal sanctions, which had different legal consequences respectively, on doctors for a single criminal act did not mean that they were imposed with multiple sanctions.

Article 66 of the Medical Practice Law stipulates that filing complaints with the Indonesian Medical Disciplinary Council (MKDKI) does not eliminate the public'€™s right to report alleged criminal acts to the authorities or file civil lawsuits with
the court.

'€œEach of the sanctions has a different dimension,'€ Arief added.

He said that medical mistreatment could not be solely addressed through the MKDKI, adding that doctors would be free of criminal charges if the MKDKI ruled that they were practicing in line with professional disciplines.

Agung Sapta Adi of the DIB said earlier that medical misconduct should first be proven in MKDKI court, adding that if doctors were found guilty by the MKDKI, they would face severe punishment, such as the revocation of their Practice Permit (SIP) or Register Permit (STR), either temporarily or permanently.

The judicial review petition, which was filed by doctors Agung Sapta Adi, Yadi Permana, Irwan Kreshnamurti and Eva Sri Diana, was proposed following the imprisonment of three physicians over the death of a patient.

Obstetrician-gynecologist Dewa Ayu Sasiary Prawani, Hendry Simanjuntak and Hendy Siagian were sent to prison in November 2013 after they were deemed responsible for the death of Julia Fransiska Makatey in 2010 due to a heart embolism during a C-section at Kandou Hospital in Manado, North Sulawesi.

The Supreme Court sentenced the defendants to 10 months in prison for violating Article 359 of the Criminal Code (KUHP) for negligence resulting in death. (alm)