Chinese doctors released

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)