Boss of Indonesian firm whose cough syrup was linked to deaths of 200 children jailed
The chief executive and three other officials of a cough syrup company linked to the deaths of more than 200 children have been jailed in Indonesia after they were found guilty of violating drug safety laws.
The officials, including CEO Arief Prasetya Harahap, were sentenced to two years in prison on Wednesday and fined £51,786 by a court in the town of Kediri in East Java province, where the company is based.
The Indonesian company, Afi Farma, was accused of producing cough syrups containing excess amounts of toxic material.
Prosecutors charged the four officials for “consciously” not testing the ingredients, despite having the means and responsibility to do so, according to the charges.
Two batches of propylene glycol, a key base for syrupy medicines, was received by Afi Farma from October 2021 to February 2022 and used in its cough medicine.
The batches contained as much as 96-99 per cent of toxic substance ethylene glycol (EG), prosecutors had earlier said in an undated court filing.
They said Afi Farma did not test the ingredients sent by its supplier and instead relied on certificates regarding product quality and safety provided by them. The prosecutors have sought up to nine years in prison for the accused.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says the safe limit for the known toxins EG and diethylene glycol (DEG) is no more than 0.10 per cent, based on global standards.
Indonesia’s health ministry also adopted that limit in its 2020 guidelines on drug standards.
The company’s lawyer, Reza Wendra Prayogo, said they denied negligence and the company was considering appealing against the court verdict.
Mr Prayogo told Reuters in October that Indonesia’s drug regulator BPOM did not require drugmakers to do rigorous testing of ingredients.
The case comes as efforts grow worldwide to tighten oversight of drug supply chains. The efforts come after a wave of poisonings linked to contaminated cough syrups killed dozens of children in countries like Gambia and Uzbekistan.
Additional reporting by agencies
