Joey Schouten, 21, a Dutch traveler said he came back to Indonesia in January after spending a couple of days in Singapore.

Eindhovens Dagblad – a local newspaper in Eindhoven, the Netherlands -- on March 20, recalling his visit.

Schouten told the news outlet that some Indonesian bystanders took him to a hospital when he was feeling ill during his visit to East Java, where he spent nine days in three different hospitals, on IV and ultrasound machines.

Schouten's version of events

Schouten told The Jakarta Post on March 26 that he went to Singapore to extend his visa in January. He visited tourist sites including Chinatown, before returning to Blitar, East Java, where he suddenly felt sick about 10 days later.

The Singapore government announced its first confirmed case in the country on Jan. 23.

He said he did not want to go to the hospital and stayed home in a sick condition for another three days. Afterward, he went to a hospital in Blitar, the Budi Rahayu Catholic Hospital, for a checkup. He said he was hospitalized there for two days before the hospital recommended that he go to a hospital in Malang as it could not find out what was wrong with him.

“I went to Aisyiyah Islamic Hospital […] where I was hospitalized again for four days. And then I went to Saiful Anwar General Hospital and was hospitalized again for three days,” he wrote.

The resident of Helmond in the Eindhoven metropolitan region told Eindhovens Dagblad he had no idea what had been wrong with him until he got a message from his doctor on March 19, informing him of the positive result of the medical test he had taken at a hospital in East Java back in January.

Read also: Months after returning home, Dutchman learns he had COVID-19 in Indonesia

The news outlet published a screenshot of a text message from a person named Dhea Daritsh, who claimed to be a staff member of Aisyiyah Islamic Hospital – a screenshot that also circulated on the internet. The message, in Indonesian, said that it related to Joey's "visit" to the hospital on Jan. 22.

The hospital has since issued a statement, saying the information was false. Aisyiyah said they never had a patient named Joey Schouten.

“Just because one hospital denies it, it doesn’t mean that it’s not true,” Schouten told the Post.

On Feb. 3, Schouten posted a photo on his Instagram account showing himself lying on a hospital bed, geotagged to the Saiful Anwar General Hospital.

Schouten did not provide any exact dates for his version of events while he was in Indonesia, except for the screenshot of the message he received from someone he claimed to be his doctor.

A friend's version of events

The Post interviewed a man, Rino TH, 25, a resident of Garum subdistrict in Blitar regency, East Java. Rino claimed to be Schouten's friend during his stay in Blitar. Rino said he first met Schouten in 2018 when the latter visited Blitar. After months of living in the city, Schouten returned to the Netherlands.

At the beginning of November last year, Schouten returned to East Java, lived in Tulungagung for about one week before moving to Blitar on Nov. 16 and then renting a house, Rino told the Post.

On Dec. 20, Joey and Rino went on a bike trip to Bali from Blitar, and then stayed on the island for about four days, before arriving in Blitar on Dec. 28.

On Jan. 6, Schouten went to Singapore to extend his visa and return to Blitar on Jan. 10 after a one-night stay in Surabaya, Rino said.

About seven days later [Jan. 17], Rino said Schouten felt his throat hurt and had difficulty swallowing food and drink. On Jan. 22, Rino took him to the Budi Rahayu Catholic Hospital in Blitar.

After having a blood test, the hospital said Schouten had hepatitis, a diagnosis that was refuted by Schouten.

Following a suggestion from Rino, Schouten asked a "referral note" to be transferred to the Saiful Anwar General Hospital in Malang – about 70 kilometers east of Blitar. Both left the Budi Rahayu Hospital later in the afternoon, just hours after Schouten got examined.

The next day, on Jan. 23, Schouten told Rino that he went to the Saiful Anwar Hospital by online taxi Grab. He also told Rino that he might be hospitalized for about two or three days there.

The two did not communicate with each other until Jan. 25, when Schouten told Rino that he was leaving the hospital and returning to Blitar. Later that day, Rino met Schouten and Rino said he looked weak.

“He also told me about his confusion regarding what kind of illness he was suffering from. He said he did not receive any clear information from the hospital,” Rino told the Post.

Days later, Schouten decided to return to the Netherlands to get medical treatment even though his health had not fully recovered despite having no more difficulty in swallowing, according to Rino.  

On Feb. 23, Schouten departed for the Netherlands.

Schouten and Rino have not communicated with each other since Feb. 25. On March. 21, Schouten reached out to Rino, saying that his name was all over the news. Rino then looked for the news until he found an article in Indonesian media outlet Republika.co.id about Schouten’s COVID-19 positive result being sent to him from someone claiming to work at Aisyiyah Islamic Hospital.

Rino said he did not know how the hospital's name was included as one of the hospitals where Schouten was treated during his time in Blitar and Malang.

In his reply to the Post, Schouten insisted he went to Aisyiyah hospital before he went to Saiful Anwar.

“It is possible that Joey contracted the coronavirus when he visited Singapore for the visa extension, or maybe not,” Rino told the Post last week. Rino said whatever Schouten had, he had not contracted it, because he had been healthy since January.

Hospitals' version

Budi Rahayu Catholic Hospital confirmed a Dutch national named Joey Schouten visited the hospital on Jan. 22 to seek medical treatment for his illness. The hospital spokesperson Anton Y. Subandi told the Post on Saturday that Schouten had difficulties eating and drinking because of a problem in his throat. 

The hospital told Schouten the diagnosis of his illness after conducting a laboratory test of his blood, Anton said. 

Schouten submitted health insurance from a European insurance company to the medical service cost that the hospital rejected because it had no "cooperation" with the European insurance company.

Schouten's friend, a local, then suggested that Joey be given a "referral note" to get treatment at Saiful Anwar Hospital in Malang, said Anton. 

Anton refused to specify the hospital diagnosis but asserted that the hospital did not have adequate medical equipment to conduct a test for COVID-19.

Earlier, Saiful Anwar Hospital confirmed they treated a patient named Joey Schouten from Jan. 23 to 25. Schouten confirmed to the Post that the dates Saiful Anwar provided were correct.

Aisyiyah hospital, meanwhile, denied that they ever treated a patient named Joey Schouten.

Schouten's version vs others'

The information given by Rino and the three hospitals all add up, in which Schouten visited two hospitals: a few hours on Jan. 22 at Budi Rahayu hospital in Blitar, traveled about 70 kilometers to Malang using a ride-hailing service on Jan. 23 and spent three days and two nights at Saiful Anwar from Jan. 23 to 25, or about four days in two hospitals.

The information throws doubt on Schouten's claim that he spent two days in Budi Rahayu and four days in Aisyiyah hospital afterward before being hospitalized in Saiful Anwar for three days. Schouten, however, insisted to the Post he went to Aisyiyah, although he did not provide the exact dates.