Two more die from dengue fever in N. Sumatra
Two more die from dengue fever in N. Sumatra
MEDAN, North Sumatra: Two more children were reported to have
died from the outbreak of dengue fever that has been plaguing
several parts of North Sumatra, bringing the death toll to at
least 12 victims since March.
Health officials said on Friday that the two children,
Perdinan Berutu, 4, from Satria village in Tebing Tinggi regency,
and Fauzan, 5, from Medan, died in local hospitals on Wednesday
and Thursday respectively.
Syahrial R. Anas, acting head of the Medan health office, said
the children died after suffering from severe hemorrhaging.
In fact, the deaths could have been prevented if the families
of the victims had taken the children to hospital immediately for
treatment.
"Parents can take early measures by giving their infected
children enough fluids and anti-fever drugs so as to reduce their
temperatures before bringing them to the hospital," he told The
Jakarta Post.
Responding to the controversy over the swallow aviaries that
are believed to be the breeding places of Aedes aegepti
mosquitoes in the province, Syahrial said his office has sent a
team to inspect 60 of the 600 such aviaries in Medan.
The environmental health technical center at the Medan health
office recently found that 90 percent of the swallow aviaries
served as breeding places for the disease-carrying mosquitoes.
Swallows' nests, cemented together by the birds' saliva, are
used in traditional medicine and are a major source of income in
North Sumatra. --JP
;JP;
ANPAa..r..
Across-infant
Police foil infant smuggling attempt
JP/5/infant
Police foil infant smuggling attempt
PEKANBARU, Riau: Police in Tanjungpinang regency, Riau
province, said on Friday they had foiled an attempt to smuggle an
infant to Singapore.
The move followed the earlier arrest in Batam in the same
province of four suspects charged with infant trafficking.
Tanjungpinang Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Widodo Prihastopo
said his officers had arrested a married couple, Desi, 29, and
Soe I Jiang, 44, as suspects at midnight on Wednesday as they
were negotiating with the mother of a baby girl.
The one-month-old infant, Elen, was to have been bought from
her mother, reportedly a commercial sex worker identified only as
Ida, and had been ordered by a Singapore citizen, Widodo added.
He said the police were searching for Ida.
"At first, the husband and wife claimed they wanted to adopt
Elen. But we were suspicious as they made records of all the
costs involved in looking after the infant, which is unusual,"
Widodo said.
He said that further investigations revealed that Elen's
mother had wished to sell her infant since she was four months
pregnant.
According to Widodo, Ida had been staying with the couple, who
promised to pay all the costs of looking after the baby until she
was taken to Singapore.
Based on the prevailing child protection legislation, anyone
found guilty of infant trafficking is subject to a maximum term
of imprisonment of 15 years and a fine of Rp 300 million. --JP
;JP;
ANPAa..r..
Across-teacher
9,700 teachers go unpaid in W. Sumatra
JP/5/teacher
9,700 teachers go unpaid in W. Sumatra
PADANG, West Sumatra: Around 9,700 temporary teachers in West
Sumatra province are complaining that they have not received
their Rp 400,000 monthly salaries since they were appointed three
months ago.
Most of them teach in state schools in remote areas across the
province.
"Not only have we not received our pay, but also the decrees
confirming our contracts," said Susilawati, one of the teachers
in Agam regency.
She said she started teaching in a junior high school in the
regency in July, but her future remained unclear.
To support her two children, she said she had to earn income
on the side by cultivating a plot of land near her home.
West Sumatra education office director Satni Eka Putra
admitted that the 9,700 teachers had not been paid, saying that
administrative discrepancies were the cause of the delay. --JP