Police Examine BPOM's Laboratory Head over Acute Kidney Injury Cases

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The National Police’s Criminal Investigation Unit (Bareskrim) has questioned the Laboratory Head at the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) over cases of acute kidney injury which caused hundreds of deaths among children. The examination was carried out on Wednesday, November 23, 2022.

Brig. Gen. Pipit Rismanto, Director of Specific Crimes at the Bareskrim, confirmed the examination but refused to disclose the name of the laboratory head. 

“The laboratory head attended [the police’s summons] yesterday,” said Pipit to Tempo on Thursday, November 24, 2022.

He neither explain how many people were examined yesterday nor said the result of the examination. He claimed he has not yet received information from the investigators.

Previously, the Attorney General's Legal Information Center head Ketut Sumedana stated that his side had only received three notification letters of the investigation order (SPDP) in cases of drug manufacturers that caused acute kidney failure in children. While in fact, BPOM and Bareskrim have named four companies as suspects.

Ketut stated that two SPDP came from BPOM, while the other one was from Bareskrim. BPOM is handling cases for PT Yarindo Farmatama and PT Universal Pharmaceutical Industries, while Bareskrim has named PT Afi Farma and CV Samudra Chemical as suspects in cases of acute kidney injury in children.

“Until now, the prosecutor's office has received three SPDP, two SPDP from BPOM one SPDP from the National Police HQ, but the National Police have determined one more. Hopefully, we will get four such SPDP soon,” said Ketut at the Sound of Justice event on Saturday, November 19, 2022.

ISMAIL | DINDA NATAYA BEGJANI

Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News