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he Bekasi District Court in West Java has sentenced five of the 19 suspects found guilty of producing and distributing fake vaccines, which sparked public uproar last year, to various prison terms.

“Defendants, Iin Sulastri and Syafrizal, have been sentenced for their roles in assisting the production and spread of fake vaccines,” the court’s spokesperson Suwarna said on Saturday.

A panel of judges presided over by Kurnia Yani Darmono handed down an eight-year sentence for Iin and a 10-year sentence for Syafrizal. The court also required the two convicts to each pay Rp 100 million (US$7,500) in fines.

“Iin received a lighter sentence because she recently gave birth,” Suwarna said.

Other convicts, Seno and Farid, each got eight years in prison and were ordered to pay fines of Rp 1 billion or serve another month in prison. They were both found guilty of distributing fake vaccines, Suwarna added.

Meanwhile, the court gave Irnawati, a nurse with the Harapan Bunda Hospital, a seven-year prison term and a Rp 1 billion fine. She was proven guilty of helping to distribute the product.

Suwarna said that the court was scheduled to carry out sentencing of the other 14 perpetrators in the near future.

Health Minister Nila Moeloek has revealed that at least 1,500 children in Banten, Jakarta and West Java were administered the fake vaccines.