Judge AWOL in malpractice suit

JAKARTA: For the second time, the Central Jakarta District Court postponed on Monday the opening hearing on a malpractice lawsuit against the doctors of Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital (RSCM), because the presiding judge was unexplainably absent.

"We've been told by the court clerk that the trial is rescheduled for May 5," said the plaintiff's lawyer, Taufik Basari of the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta).

Plaintiff Indra Yacub is suing the doctors for negligence that resulted in the death of his wife.

He demanded that the hospital make a public apology and pay material damages of Rp 47,324,000 (US$5,502) and nonmaterial damages of Rp 3 billion.

Adya Vitry Harsisusanti died in 2002 after a doctor inserted a central venous pressure (CVP) needle into a vein in her neck to administer an anesthetic to prepare her for a surgery the next day. -- JP