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n an attempt to curb and protect Jakarta'€™s residents from illegal medical practices, the Jakarta Health Agency is planning to provide a portal listing all licensed health clinics in the capital.

Agency head Koesmedi Priharto said that residents would soon be able to verify the license of health clinics operating in Jakarta through the website, which is currently under development.

'€œLater, residents will be able to access the portal through Jakarta Smart City'€™s website, as the two will be integrated,'€ Koesmedi said during a recent press conference at Jakarta Police headquarters.

According to Koesmedi, with access to the portal, people seeking to improve their health through alternative treatments will be able to seek out a clinic that holds a license. Therefore, they may have some protection against illegal practices.

The idea was developed following the death of chiropractic patient Allya Siska Nadya, aged 33.

Allya died on Aug. 7 last year, a day after she had undergone chiropractic therapy at Chiropractic First clinic, Pondok Indah Mall, South Jakarta.

During the case investigation Jakarta Police discovered that neither the clinic nor its chiropractors possessed operational licenses.

The police later announced that they had named US chiropractor Randall Cafferty and Malaysian national Khan Wain Min '€” owner of the Chiropractic First chain of clinics that employed Cafferty '€” suspects in the alleged malpractice case that led to Allya'€™s death.

Koesmedi revealed that the agency had been closing unlicensed clinics following Allya'€™s case, adding that the agency had been closely monitoring health clinics in the capital. As of last week, Koesmedi said that the agency had shut down no fewer than 20 health clinics due to a lack of license permitting them to operate.

He urged residents to report any complaints regarding health services and facilities in the capital by calling the agency'€™s call center on 0822-1000-8683.

The health agency, the Jakarta Police, Manpower Ministry and South Jakarta Immigration Office have established a joint team to monitor health practices in the capital.

The Jakarta Police'€™s general crime director, Sr. Comr. Krishna Murti, said that late last month the joint team had arrested two Australian nationals, Antony Dawson and Thomas Dawson, for allegedly operating illegal chiropractic clinics in Indonesia.

Krishna said that the Australian brothers, who had been running six Chiropractic Indonesia clinics, had allegedly violated medical practice, labor and immigration regulations.

The six clinics are located in Dharmawangsa, Pacific Place, Gandaria City, Permata Senayan and Lotte Shopping Avenue, all in South Jakarta, while one clinic is located in Bali. All of the clinics have now been shut down by the police.

According to their temporary residence permits issued by the Immigration Office, Krishna said that Anthony had a permit to work as the director of the clinic while Thomas had been granted approval to work as a chiropractic consultant until Jan. 31.

'€œHowever, in fact, both of them work as chiropractors. They directly treated patients,'€ Krishna said.

Krishna said that the police might charge them with money laundering because they had obtained millions of rupiah and transferred the money to their country.

The brothers are reported to have run the clinics since 2002 and allegedly charged their patients up to Rp 27 million (US$1,985) per person per package of treatments.

Khrisna further said that the police would summon six patients who had complained about the service provided by Chiropractic Indonesia.

Tundjung Rijanto from the Manpower Ministry said that the Dawson brothers had acquired working permits in Indonesia due to a recommendation from sponsor PT Inti Sehat Tama Sejahtera.

Police are now investigating the company to determine its involvement in the illegal practice.