An Indonesian court granted permission for a class-action lawsuit on behalf of parents whose children were killed or injured by tainted cough syrup.
Nur Asiah, whose four-year-old daughter passed away last year, stated, “My child’s struggle was not in vain.”
The case has been brought against Indonesia’s government and eight pharmaceutical companies by her family and the families of 24 other victims.
Since 2022, acute kidney injury has resulted in the deaths of more than 200 Indonesian children.
Not only is Indonesia affected by contaminated cough syrup, In The Gambia and Uzbekistan, there have been approximately 100 reported deaths.
An examination is going on in Indonesia, yet neighborhood specialists express up to this point no proof shows joins with cases in different nations. Six cough syrups that are manufactured in India and Indonesia have received warnings from the World Health Organization (WHO).
Prior to the court’s decision, Nur Asiah told the BBC Indonesia, “I didn’t know what I gave to my child was poison.”
After having a fever last year, her daughter Nasya was given cough syrup. After taking the medication, she became extremely ill and passed away in the hospital three weeks later.
The lawsuit seeks $195,000 for each child who dies and approximately $130,000 for each child who is injured. Their attorney stated that other parents will be permitted to join the lawsuit.
“What has occurred cannot be compensated for in any way. “It won’t bring my child back,” Nur Asiah cried.
BBC Indonesia attempted to get in touch with the eight businesses being sued, but none of them responded before Tuesday.
The lawyer for PT Afi Farma, whose cough syrup was used by most of the children in this case, said, “It is not appropriate if the responsibility is only placed on the pharmaceutical industry.” He also said that the government should also be held accountable.
Another company, PT Universal Pharmaceutical Industries, stated that it had procured the ingredients from an FDA-approved supplier and had been using the same FDA-certified system for approximately 30 years for their cough syrup brand.
According to the pharmaceutical company’s lawyer, “truly, pharmaceutical companies are also victims – victims of a crime by the suppliers of the raw materials.”
A spokesperson for the Health Ministry stated that it was developing a compensation plan.
“We have tried our best by quickly locating causes, exchanging information with other nations and the WHO, and importing toxic substance antidotes.”
In light of the worldwide lack of pharmaceutical-grade solvents, Indonesian authorities discovered that local chemical companies used industrial-grade solvent materials like ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol in the syrup. The two substances are normally utilized in radiator fluid answers for climate control systems and ice chests.
