24 snack victims still in hospital
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)