Aulia's family filed a detention request with the Central Java Police in Semarang on Thursday, two days after the police named the suspects, identified as TEN, director of the school’s anesthesiology residency program; SM, a staffer in the finance department; and ZYA, a senior doctor overseeing the university’s anesthesiology residents.

They have been charged under one or more of three articles in the Criminal Code: Article 368 on extortion, Article 335 on unpleasant acts and Article 378 on fraud, which carry a maximum punishment of nine years in prison.

However, the three suspects have not yet been detained.

A lawyer representing Aulia's family, Misyal B Achmad, said the suspects should be detained to prevent them from tampering with the investigation. The suspects also met the criteria for detention, he said, as they had been charged with crimes carrying a maximum sentence of more than 5 years in prison.

“We are concerned that they might destroy evidence and intimidate witnesses. The process of naming the suspects has been slow because many witnesses who gave statements earlier were intimidated, causing their testimonies to change, with some even retracting their statements,” Misyal said as quoted by kompas.id.

“If these suspects remain free, they will surely intimidate [witnesses again].”

Misyal said Aulia's family had also urged the university to suspend the three suspects and focus on the ongoing legal process. The family called on the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) to revoke TEN and ZYA's medical licenses for inappropriate conduct.

Diponegoro University spokesman Khaerul Anwar conveyed the university's commitment to follow the legal process. The academic institution is also providing legal assistance to the three suspects, as it upholds the principle of presumption of innocence.

Besides receiving assistance from the university, the three suspects are also being supported by the Central Java branch of the IDI.

Central Java IDI chairman Telogo Wismo Agung Durmanto said the doctors' association was obligated to assist its members involved in legal cases. He added that his office was not providing support to Aulia's family because the family had not reported the case to the IDI and already had legal representation.

The Central Java IDI would only sanction TEN and ZYA if they were found guilty in a court of law, the chairman said.

Aulia's family had previously expressed disappointment with the IDI's decision to assist the suspects but not Aulia, as Aulia and the suspects were all IDI members.

Aulia was found dead on Aug. 12 in her rented room after reportedly injecting tranquilizers into her own body.

The 30-year-old medical resident is believed to have been bullied during her residency at Dr. Kariadi Central General Hospital in the provincial capital, as described in her personal diary found at the scene.

Aulia’s death has shed light on rampant systemic bullying in medical schools. Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin previously admitted that bullying had become a deeply rooted problem among medical schools in the country.

As of December, the Health Ministry had received reports on more than 500 bullying cases at government hospitals in the 16 months since it launched a hazing reporting platform for medical residents in August 2023. (jan)