Chinese doctors released

JAKARTA (JP): Five Chinese doctors who were arrested last month for allegedly violating their work permits have been released and allowed to continue practicing traditional Chinese medicine, government officials announced yesterday.

Their practice at the Pusaka Timur Clinic in Central Jakarta was legitimate, the director general for the supervision of public health at the Ministry of Health, Nyoman Kumara Rai, said.

Their arrest, and the subsequent threat of deportation, by the Directorate General of Immigration, was the result of a misunderstanding about the terms of their work permit, he said.

"They had recommendations from the Ministry of Health to practice as health consultants at a local clinic," Kumara told a news conference also attended by the director for Immigration Supervision and Measures, Zaiman Nurmatias.

The term 'consultant' was misunderstood by the immigration office, Kumara said.

As a consultant, a foreign doctor can only practice as long as he or she is accompanied by an Indonesian doctor. Foreigners not allowed to receive patients individually.

"But, the Chinese doctors did not have to be accompanied 24 hours a day," Kumara explained.

Jia Qiguang, Liu Shubao, Zhou Ruihua, He Mingyi and Guo Yanhui were arrested on July 22, four days after a team from the Directorate General of Immigration caught them practicing at the clinic in the presence of only translators.

"They have the permits to work, and to stay in Indonesia temporarily," Zaiman said yesterday.

The traditional Chinese medical treatment at Pusaka Timur medical clinic is the first legitimate practice of its kind in Indonesia, according to the Ministry of Health. (09)