24 snack victims still in hospital

JAKARTA (JP): Twenty-two children and two adults, one of them a pregnant mother, were receiving treatment at Harum Hospital on Jl. Raya Kalimalang, East Jakarta, on Thursday for food poisoning suffered after eating snacks at an event at private Borobudur University on Wednesday evening, a senior nurse said.

"A total of 107 people were rushed to the hospital on Wednesday evening, but most of them were permitted to leave after their health improved," Lisme Simanjuntak, coordinating nurse at the hospital, told The Jakarta Post on Thursday night.

The two adults were identified as Irma, 22, a pregnant mother, and Hertati, 23, while the children ranged in ages from four to 11 years old, she said.

According to Lisme, the 24 remaining patients suffered from vomiting, headaches and stomach pains.

"But, their health is improving, and doctors have said hopefully they could leave the hospital by tomorrow," she said.

She said Pratiwo, a pediatrician, and two other doctors, Robertus and Haryati, were still treating the victims.

The Suara Pembaruan afternoon daily reported on Thursday that the victims fell ill after eating rissoles, lemper (glutinous rice and meat wrapped in a banana leaf) and omelettes.

The daily quoted Dayat, a father of one of the poisoned kids, as saying the omelettes were believed to have caused the food poisoning.

East Jakarta Police chief Lt. Col. Tjiptono confirmed the allegation, saying police had questioned an employee of Borobudur University who was responsible for providing food for the event.

"Based on the information gained from the person, we estimate that the omelettes were the cause of the illness," he said on Thursday, as quoted by Suara Pembaruan.

Tjiptono said his staff had taken samples of the food to the police laboratory to be examined. He also said that the Borobudur Foundation was ready to cover all the hospital expenses of the victims.

The victims were attending on Wednesday evening the inauguration ceremony of the Koran education program at the university compound's Ummul Qurro Mosque. The ceremony was held by the Borobudur Foundation, which runs the university.

Meanwhile, Makassar Police had summoned two producers of the food, named Mrs. Tuti, a lemper supplier, and Janto Tjoandra, owner of Pada Suka snack store, which sold the rissoles and the omelettes.

"The cause of the massive poisoning may not have resulted from the lemper that I have supplied. There were three kinds of foods provided at the ceremony," she said.

Meanwhile, Janto said he sold 200 items of snack foods he supplied. (asa)