TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

Jakarta Post

Court finds drugmakers at fault over toxic cough syrup, orders paltry compensation

More than 200 children died of the injury and about 120 more survived, some of whom lived with disabilities which led to financial hardships for their parents.

Reuters
Jakarta
Fri, August 23, 2024

Change text size

Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone

Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Court finds drugmakers at fault over toxic cough syrup, orders paltry compensation Safitri Puspa Rani holds a picture frame bearing the image of her late son Panghegar Bhumi on Feb. 11 as she cries while explaining her son's condition before he died in in Jakarta from fatal acute kidney injury. (AFP/Bay Ismoyo)

A

Jakarta court ordered two local companies to pay up to Rp 60 million ($3,850) to each family whose children died of an acute kidney injury or were seriously injured after consuming toxic cough syrup.

More than 200 children died of the injury and about 120 more survived, some of whom lived with disabilities which led to financial hardships for their parents.

Courts have cited lax oversight by pharmaceutical companies, including local drugmakers and some suppliers, as well as the country's food and drugs agency (BPOM), in hearings into the poisonings.

In late 2022, more than 20 families launched a civil suit against the agency, the health ministry, and several companies.

Judges at the Central Jakarta court found a drugmaker and a supplier, Afi Farma and CV Samudera Chemical, at fault in the poisonings, according to a ruling released late on Thursday. 

The health ministry and the BPOM were cleared of wrongdoing.

Morning Brief

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning.

Delivered straight to your inbox three times weekly, this curated briefing provides a concise overview of the day's most important issues, covering a wide range of topics from politics to culture and society.

By registering, you agree with The Jakarta Post's

Thank You

for signing up our newsletter!

Please check your email for your newsletter subscription.

View More Newsletter

The court ordered the companies to pay the parents who brought the suit compensation Rp 50 million for children who died and 60 million rupiah for children who were injured. 

Parents had asked for Rp 3.4 billion for each child that died, and Rp 2.2 billion for survivors. 

Siti Habiba, the lawyer for the parents, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The court document, posted on its website, did not include reasons for the decision.

Afi Farma's lawyer Reza Wendra Prayogo told Reuters on Friday the firm was "disappointed" with the civil case ruling and the company was still considering its next legal step. 

Last year, a criminal court found East Java-based drugmaker Afi Farma guilty of negligence and jailedofficials for not testing the ingredients sent by its supplier.

The syrups contained ethylene glycol (EG), a commonly used chemical in products such as brake fluid and antifreeze. A court document from that criminal case said the EG concentration in the syrups reached as high as 99 percent, where international standards say only 0.1 percent of EG is safe for consumption.

The company has repeatedly denied negligence.

Reuters could not immediately contact CV Samudera Chemical, an Indonesian soapmaker, whose toxic ingredient made its way to Afi Farma, according to the court document of the Afi Farma criminal case in 2023.

The World Health Organization said the contaminated medicines had also killed children in Gambia and Uzbekistan in 2022.

Your Opinion Matters

Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.

Enter at least 30 characters
0 / 30

Thank You

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.

Share options

Quickly share this news with your network—keep everyone informed with just a single click!

Change text size options

Customize your reading experience by adjusting the text size to small, medium, or large—find what’s most comfortable for you.

Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone

Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!

Generating Questionnaires

Thank You

Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
We appreciate your feedback.