Young Doctor Dies by Suicide After Alleged Intimidation by Local Parliament Members

A young doctor named Eliza Princila Utami Pakaenoni, known as dr. Icha, has reportedly died by suicide after suffering from severe depression. According to a medical diagnosis, dr. Icha’s depression was triggered by intimidation allegedly perpetrated by three members of the Timor Tengah Utara (TTU) Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT). The three individuals are family members of a patient of dr. Icha’s who had been bitten by a snake.

The young doctor passed away on Friday, 26 June 2026, at her parents’ home in the Baumata housing complex, Kupang Regency, after receiving two weeks of treatment at Leona Hospital in Kefamenanu. After speaking with the victim, the Regent of Timor Tengah Utara, Yosep Falentinus Delasalle Kebo, revealed the cause of dr. Icha’s severe depression. The Regent disclosed that the alleged intimidation by the three council members was verbal in nature. As relatives of the patient, they questioned the procedures dr. Icha was following. However, apparently impatient with the treatment process, they uttered words that deeply wounded her, leading to severe trauma.

‘Doctor Icha may have answered, and they were impatient, then the intimidation escalated with the word ’stupid’ being used. ‘Doctor Icha is stupid, she doesn’t understand the SOP’,’ Yosep Falentinus Kebo stated on the tvOne programme Kabar Petang. The statements from the three council members made the victim feel stupid and worthless. ‘There was also a council member who said that we adhere to SOPs, so when we asked dr. Icha during her treatment, she said, ’I feel stupid. I am considered stupid, so I feel my knowledge is useless’,’ he added. The statements and various threats caused dr. Icha to suffer trauma. The Ministry of Health has expressed its deepest condolences over the death of Eliza Princila Utami Pakaenoni, or dr. Icha, who served at Leona Hospital in Kefamenanu, Timor Tengah Utara Regency, NTT.