Two Children Die After Eating Poisonous Fish - Singaraja
Two children from the village of Banjar Sekar Desa have died
and seven other people have been hospitalized after eating
fried fish crackers made from the poisonous “puffer
fish”, locally known as the “durian fish”.
Gede Kadek Tegeh (4) and his sister Ketut Sriariani (10) died
on Saturday evening (14/1) at approximately 11.30 pm. Seven
other people were admitted to the Buleleng public hospital
with severe food poisoning but have since been released. (January
16th 2006, Bali Post)
Minister Fahmi: No Big Food Industry Uses Formaldehyde
Industry Minister Fahmi Idris said that no big food industry
in the country has used formaldehyde in their products, and
the government had prepared four measures in anticipating
abuse of the dangerous chemical substance, mostly used by
small and medium scale industries. "In the past, the
Health Ministry through its Drug and Food Supervisory Agency
(BPOM) had conducted a test on the use of formaldehyde by
big food producers. But it appeared that none have used it,"
he said on the sidelines of a formaldehyde-free campaign also
joined by Cooperative and Small/Medium Scale Businesses Minister
Suryadharma Ali here on Monday (16 /1). Therefore, he added,
the government had prepared four steps in anticipation of
the misuse of formaldehyde by the food industry. The first
step is on the distribution of formaldehyde in the country,
restricting the sale of formaldehyde, especially to small/medium
scale food producers. In the second step, the government will
intensify campaign and control of producers, importers as
well as the public, in the hope they would not use formaldehyde
in their food production process. In the third step, the government
will take legal action against those who have violated the
regulation, while the fourth step is protecting small/medium
scale businesses.In the meantime, Cooperative and Small/Medium
Scale Businesses Minister Surya dharma Ali hoped the mass
media would be more involved in campaigns against the use
of formaldehyde on food products, so that small/medium scale
businesses will stop using this dangerous chemical and the
community will have no fear in consuming tofu, salted fish,
wet noodle and meatballs. (January 17th 2006, Antara News)
Indonesia Suffers Loss of US$1 Billion Due To Animal Trafficking
Indonesia has suffered a loss of about US$1 billion per year
due to rampant wild animal trafficking, The Gibbon Foundation
director Willie Smits said on Thursday (1/19). "Among
the wild animals often be smuggled abroad are birds of paradise,
cockatoos, parrots, orang utans, lizards and snakes,"
he said. Some 50,000 birds of paradise were smuggled from
Jayapura, the capital of Indonesia’s easternmost province
of Papua, to foreign states every year, he said adding that
such Indonesian big cities as Jakarta, Surabaya and Medan
have been used as gates to smuggle the animals. "Bali
has even become the gate for the trafficking which used baggage
to smuggle the animals," he said. Smits said the animals
were smuggled to Vietnam, Thailand, Japan and Hong Kong as
well as Middle Eastern and European states. He also said the
animals were traded at around US$50,000 each in European countries
although they were bought at Rp. 150,000 (US$15.78) to Rp.
250,000 back home. Most of the animals were smuggled from
Sumatra, Kalimantan and Papua. The rampant smuggling has turned
Indonesia into the largest source of animal trafficking, he
said adding that loose baggage checks at the airport has led
to the rampant animal trafficking. Smits also said that many
Indonesian officials brought wild animals as a gift after
they finished their duty outside Java island.(January 20th
2006, Antara News)
Indonesian Girl Dies from Bird Flu
A 13-year-old girl has died from bird flu in Indonesia, bringing
the country's death toll from the disease to 13, a health
ministry official said Monday (16/1). Hariadi Wibisono said
local tests showed that the girl, who died Saturday (14/1),
had the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus, but the findings
are waiting to be confirmed by a World Health Organization
laboratory in Hong Kong, the BBC reported. Two other members
of the girl's family are hospitalized and awaiting tests to
determine whether they have bird flu. The H5N1 strain of the
virus has killed at least 76 people in Asia since December
2003. Other nations have also been affected, such as Turkey,
which reported its fourth suspected death on Sunday (15/1).
Millions of chickens and ducks have been killed by the virus
or culled to prevent its further spread. (January 16th 2006,
UPI)
Two More Bali Bombing Suspects Named
Two Indonesians arrested this month, including a close aide
to the country's most wanted militant, have been named as
suspects in last year's restaurant bombings on Bali, a police
spokesman says. Police last week declared four other men suspects
in the same case on charges of helping hide accused militant
mastermind Noordin M Top during and after the bombings that
killed 20 people at three eateries on the famed resort island.
"The other day we named four. Today, it has become six
suspects," said deputy national police spokesman Anton
Bahrul Alam. Mr. Alam said the two were suspected of assisting
in the attacks. Police have been conducting a nationwide hunt
for Malaysian Noordin Top, a senior member of Jemaah Islamiah,
a shadowy militant group seen as the South-East Asian arm
of Al Qaeda. Noordin Top is blamed for helping mastermind
a series of bombings in Indonesia in recent years, including
the 2005 Bali attacks that were carried out by three suicide
bombers with backpacks. Mr. Alam said one of the two latest
suspects, Subur Sugiarto, was a close associate of the leader.
Subar Sugiarto videotaped messages from the leader, in which
the Malaysian threatened the West with more attacks, Mr. Alam
said.He also videotaped farewell messages from the three suicide
bombers before the October 1 bombings on Bali, Mr. Alam added.
(January 21st 2005, Bali Post)
Prosecutors Demand Death for Sukumaran
Indonesian prosecutors have demanded the death penalty for
alleged Bali Nine ringleader Myuran Sukumaran, but called
only for life in prison for accused drug mule Michael Czugaj.
The starkly different calls make it clear that Indonesian
authorities want to draw a line of life and death between
the two men accused of being the gang's chiefs and those who
claim they were forced into becoming drug couriers. Andrew
Chan, 21 of Sydney and Sukumaran's alleged partner and gang
"godfather", could also face a demand for death
by firing squad when he appears in the Denpasar District Court
on Thursday (19/1). However, the rest of the Bali Nine, who
appear in court on Wednesday (25/1), would only be subjected
to calls for life in prison. On Monday (23/1), prosecutors
also demanded life in prison for another of the mules Scott
Rush, 20 of Brisbane and Czugaj's friend. Sukumaran, a martial
arts expert, has been accused of being the gang's "enforcer".
Chief prosecutor David Adji said the 24-year-old from Sydney
had shown no remorse for trying to smuggle more than 8kg of
heroin to Australia last year. Under Indonesian court procedures,
prosecutors make recommendations on what punishment they think
a defendant should get if found guilty. Such demands are not
binding on judges, who can impose tougher or more lenient
sentences than those called for by the prosecution. Verdicts
in all the Bali Nine cases are expected later next month in
line with a deadline set under Indonesian law. (January 23rd
2006, AFP)
Nine killed in Indonesian landslides – Bali /Lombok
Landslides triggered by heavy rains have killed at least nine
people at three locations in Indonesia, including the tourist
islands of Bali and Lombok, the Red Cross and local media
say. "From east Lombok we have reports of two deaths,
five missing and more than 2,300 people forced to seek refuge.
From north Bali, a mother and her child died when landslides
hit a village," said Irman Rachman, head of the Indonesian
Red Cross' disaster management division. Both incidents occurred
during the weekend, he added. Rachman said another landslide
hit a remote area on Flores island on Sunday but a detailed
report has not been received yet. Detik.com, an Indonesian
news portal, reported five people had been killed there. Floods
and landslides are common in Indonesia, especially during
the wet season. Many landslides are caused by illegal logging
or the clearing of farmland that strips away natural barriers
to such disasters. There has been no suggestion the three
most recent landslides were caused by anything beside heavy
rains, which have pounded large swathes of Indonesia in recent
days. (January 23rd 2005, AEDT)
At Least Four Deaths in Bali due to Dengue Fever in January
Three children aged 6, 11 and 13, as well as a young pregnant
mother have fallen victim to the current epidemic of Dengue
Fever. All the deceased were from the South of Bali and were
treated at the Denpasar Sanglah General Hospital. Hospitals
in Denpasar are currently struggling to cope with the epidemic;
some patients having to queue in corridors waiting for placement.
Massive fogging campaigns are underway in attempt to control
the spread of the disease which is carried by the Aades Egypti
mosquito. Authorities are expecting cases to increase as heavy
rains and flooding continue throughout the Island. (January
21st 2006, Denpost)
Indonesia Treating New Suspected Human Case of Bird Flu
Indonesian doctors said on Saturday they were treating a new
suspected human case of bird flu in West Java province, where
two children who died earlier this month tested positive for
avian influenza. The 11-year-old girl under treatment was
a distant neighbour of two children who tested positive for
the H5N1 strain of the disease, said health official Hadi
Yusuf. The girl was a resident of Indramayu in West Java-site
of the fifth cluster case to date in Indonesia - and was being
treated at the Hasan Sadikin hospital in the provincial capital
of Bandung, Yusuf told AFP. “Similar to the two deceased
children, the new patient had also been in contact with dead
fowl near her house,” Yusuf said, adding that local
officials were testing samples taken from the stricken girl.
Further tests were being carried out at a Hong Kong laboratory
accredited by the World Health Organization (WHO) to confirm
the results for the two deceased children. (January 21st 2005,
AFP)
Indonesian Anger Over Playboy Plan
Conservative Indonesians are furious about the planned debut
of a local edition of raunchy magazine Playboy. The local
publisher has promised it will dramatically tone down the
magazine's erotic photographs but Islamic leaders charge the
famed title will corrupt a culture being inundated by Western
influences. "Indonesia is not Europe or America, whose
culture and reaction towards nudity are totally different
than ours," fumed Hasyim Muzadi, chairman of the country's
largest Muslim organization, the moderate Nahdlatul Ulama.
Playboy "simply has no place in our social norms and
culture. Pornography, regardless of how it is being disguised,
will only corrupt youth morals and bring catastrophes such
as a rise in rape and sexual harassment," he said. Mr.
Muzadi wants authorities to revoke not only the license it
has issued for Playboy but also for its Indonesian competitors.
(January 23rd 2006, AFP)
