T

he personal feud between former patient Prita Mulyasari and Omni International Hospital may have ended as the hospital management agreed to retract its complaint Wednesday.

However, Prita's legal battle seemed far from over as the Tangerang District Court will still go on with the libel lawsuit following the instruction from the Banten High Court to reopen the case.

Prita and representatives from the hospital management were in closed door meeting mediated by South Tangerang acting mayor M. Shaleh at Telaga Seafood restaurant in Bumi Serpong Damai.

"Omni will revoke its complaint *from the court*," Saleh said after the meeting, adding Prita would not file any further complaints against the hospital.

"Hopefully, the out-of-court settlement between the two parties will be mitigating factors *for the panel of judges* to decide on this case," he told vivanews.com.

Omni president director Bina Ratna Kesuma Fitri confirmed Shaleh's statement.

"We do not request any special conditions from Prita to end the legal process."

Meanwhile, Prita said she wants to focus on her legal proceeding where she is facing charges of defamation that carry a maximum sentence of six years in prison.

"I want to be free *from the court battle*," the 32-year-old told tempointeraktif.com.

She said earlier she would not counter-sue the hospital.

"I think there is no benefit in counter-suing Omni Hospital. I will face the trial... I'm ready.

"I don't want more trouble. It's better not to counter-sue."

Prita was dragged to the legal arena after her email containing her rants about the hospital's services circulated around the Internet late last year.

In her Aug. 27, 2008 email titled "Penipuan (Fraud by) Omni International Hospital Alam Sutera Tangerang", she revealed her disappointment over the hospital's poor service, its management's arrogance and its doctors' inability to diagnose her illness during her treatment at the hospital from Aug. 7 to 12.

The letter irked the hospital management. The latter then lodged a complaint to the police who detained the housewife for defamation.

Prita's detention has angered netizens and the public and many supported her complaints in the name of freedom of expression, berating police's decision to detain her and therefore separate her from her two kids for 21 days.

Prita's case received wide coverage from the media after former president Megawati Soekarnoputri, who was running for the presidential election early last month, visited her at the detention center and called for her release. Other presidential candidates, like Jusuf Kalla and eventual winner Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono mentioned Prita's case in their televised speeches.

Support for her has also been pouring in through blogs and a Facebook cause titled "Dukungan Bagi Ibu Prita Mulyasari, Penulis Surat Keluhan Melalui Internet yang Dipenjara" ("Support for Ibu Prita Mulyasari, Arrested Internet Complaint Author").

The pressure led to Prita's release from the detention. On June 25, the Tangerang District Court acquitted the case.

House of Representatives' health commission also came up on July 8 with recommendations to revoke permits for the Omni hospital following the widespread support for Prita.