A big shocking crime spread out throughout the country scaring many citizens mainly parents who have babies and
young children. But this time the extraordinary crime doesn’t come from
terrorism or narcotic drugs but vaccine
forgery. Nobody expects that there can be some human have the heart to fabricate vaccine
forgery. The stake is horrifying as it affects the fate of thousands of babies and
children and the future generation as a whole. And at everybody surprise, this horrible crime
has lasted for more than a decade.
The crime broke out
to the grand public when on June 22, 2016 night, police raided a
house in Kemang Pratama Regency Real Estate, Bekasi. The homeowner was a married couple arrested under
the accusation of vaccine forgery, which they carried out in the house. The couple, H. Taufiqurahman and R. Agustina, had just arrived at home after conducting fasting night
prayer (tarawih) in the compound mosque. Investigators found thousands of bottles of vaccine that have been packed in boxes ready for distribution stored in the prayer
room and bedroom.
Police have seized
a total of 15 suspects of vaccine forgery among other manufacturers, owners of
pharmacies, drug stores, distributors, couriers and label printer at several
locations, among others Bekasi, East Jakarta, Tangerang, Subang, and Semarang. Police
also examine 18 witnesses from hospitals, pharmacies, and drugstores. As a
result, it was revealed four hospitals and two pharmacies and a drug store in
Jakarta involved in the circulation of fake vaccines.
The perpetrators told
the police that they used tetanus fluid mixed with intravenous fluid as the main
raw materials of their fake vaccine. Both raw materials were put into bottles with
false labels. The sad story continues as the vaccine is not produced in a hygienic
laboratory but in a warehouse.
The main question
is why the fake vaccine can be distributed without being detected for quite a
long time? What the Health Ministry and Drugs and Food Examining Body (BPOM) did
for so long time? Those institutions and the government as a whole were accused
to be negligent in taking care of public health. Head of BPOM seemed not to
take full responsibility on what had happened arguing that their authority so
far was limited and wanted it to be widely extended to be able to cope with
such crime.
The past experience
indicated that even the law enforcers and could be the whole society had looked
on the vaccine forgery crime very lightly. Several years ago, one of the
perpetrators who was taken into the prison had been sentenced for only one year.
And surprisingly there was no reaction from the people against such light verdict
for so extraordinary crime.
Numerous mothers were
horrified and anxious that their babies and children who had been vaccinated were
infused with a fake vaccine and demanded re-vaccination. They have every
right to demand such requirement and the government should be positively responsive.
Having informed such a horrible crime, President Jokowi outraged and declared
that the vaccine forgery was an extraordinary crime. He asked the law enforcer
to impose maximum punishment to perpetrators. When asked about the death
penalty, Health Minister agreed to implement such a major sentence and their
properties to be confiscated. For deterrence, it is quite appropriate if the
government implemented sterner punishment to protect the public from such abominable
wrongdoing.
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