29 HIV/AIDS Related Deaths in Bali for 2005; Dengue Fever
Cases Doubled
Sanglah General Hospital Director Dr I.G. Lanang Rudiarta
gave a presentation encouraging the people of Bali to be more
health conscious in the coming year at the Sanglah Anniversary
celebration on Friday (30/12). Dr. Lanang was concerned at
the dramatic increase in HIV/AIDS and Dengue Fever cases in
2005 and said that there had been 29 HIV/AIDS related deaths
reported at Sanglah General Hospital in 2005, and an average
of 16 HIV/AIDS patients were admitted each month. The Director
also expressed concern at the alarming increase in Dengue
Fever cases quoting 4,610 admissions and 15 deaths in 2005,
compared to 2,837 admissions in 2004. (December 31st 2005,
Bali Post)
Eleven School Boys Killed by Runaway Truck in Madura
On the Indonesian island of Madura, eleven schoolboys were
killed and 14 seriously injured when a truck reportedly ran
into them. The high school students were walking alongside
the road in the town of Pamekasan when the incident occurred.
An official at the town's hospital said the students died
on the scene. She said four of the injured were transferred
to a hospital in Surabaya, the capital of East Java province,
because their condition was serious. A local policeman told
the Antara news agency that the truck driver fled the scene
but was arrested later. (January 1st 2006, ABC Asia Pacific)
Singaporean Citizen Found Dead in Villa
Chew Kim Yoong (45) was found dead in a Villa in Bualu, Nusa
Dua on Sunday afternoon (1/1). Staff at the Villa had become
concerned when the guest who had gone to his room at midnight
o Saturday (31/1), and had not woken by 6pm the following
day. Police suspect that the man had died of a heart related
condition as medications found in his room suggested that
he was suffering from a cardiac condition. (January 1st 2006,
Bali Post)
Walhi Predicts Java Has 28 Landslide-Prone Spots
An Indonesian NGO, the Indonesian Forum for the Environment
(Walhi) predicted that there were at least 28 landslide-prone
spots in Java Island. According to Walhi`s spokeswoman Imas
Nurhayati, the 28 spots were located across Java island, including
11 in West Java, six in Central Java and 11 spots in East
Java. Apart from that, Walhi considered that the flash flood
which hit Jember district in East Java province on Sunday
night (1/1) and in Banjarnegara, Central Java on Wednesday
(4/1) were indications that the forestation in Java was in
a critical condition and highly prone to natural disasters.
Thirteen million hectares, Java Island has only 1.9 million
hectares forested land, so that in such a condition, Java
is highly prone to natural disasters. Meanwhile, according
to Walhi`s Executive Director Chalid Muhammad, the flash flood
was the result of forest destruction, so that it is always
possible that other natural disasters might strike the most
densely populated island each year.( January 7th 2006, ANTARA
News)
Hopes Fade for Bali Nine
Indonesian prosecutors are giving their strongest sign yet
they will demand death for some of the Bali Nine. The sign
came on Tuesday (3/1) as accused drug mule Michael Czugaj
became a witness in his own trial. Fighting a possible firing
squad under tough Indonesian anti-drug trafficking laws, Mr.
Czugaj told the Denpasar District Court he thought he and
his family would be shot if he did not carry part of a $4
million heroin stash to Australia. A former employer told
the court Mr. Czugaj's involvement in any sort of crime was
completely out of character. Trevor Hennessey, who owns a
Brisbane glass and aluminum installation company, said Mr.
Czugaj had been a model employee during several work stints
which first began when he was a 14-year-old school work experience
intern. He said Michael Czugaj had been small and timid at
work and did not like confrontation with anyone. "Knowing
the character of Michael, not only would he be worried about
his own well being, but I think more so he would have been
worried about his family," Mr. Hennessey said. The trial
was adjourned until January 17. Indonesian laws against drug
trafficking carry the death sentence. Several foreigners have
received the ultimate sanction for carrying far lesser amounts
of drugs than the nine Australians. (January 4th 2006, AFP)
Australian Man Burgled at His Sanur Home
Neville Wilsea (66) of Kutat Lestari in Sanur was burgled
on Thursday (5/1) at approximately 4.30 am when two armed
men entered the house, where they helped themselves to food
in the kitchen before proceeding to collect two digital cameras,
four hand phones and cash to a total value of approximately
Rp. 67 million. The thieves held Mr. Wilsea at knifepoint
during the raid then escaped with their bounty and are still
at large. Local police are investigating the case. (January
6th 2006, Denpost)
Toddler / Baby Burned Alive by Their Own Father
Two children aged 3 years and 11 months are being treated
for serious combustion injuries in the burns unit a Jakarta
hospital after they were burned alive by their own father.
Syaiful Andi set his two children alight in the early hours
of Sunday morning (1/1) at their Tanggerang home. Police are
still questioning the man as to the reasons for his actions.
(January 4th 2006, Bali Post)
Dutch Woman Arrested With 0.5gm Hashish, Jln. Oberoi
Dutch National Michael Johanda (37) was arrested on Thursday
(5/1) when a house search by the police drug squad found 0.5
grams of hashish wrapped in a small white tissue in a kitchen
jar. The home of Ms. Johanda of Sunary Bungalows in Jalan
Oberoi was searched after the police received a tip-off from
an anonymous caller. On the same day police also arrested
a local man by the name of Uce (31), a graphic designer from
Denpasar who was found to have 2 packets of marijuana at his
Gunung Sari home. (January 7th 2006, Bali Post)
Bali Tourism Badly Affected by Last October's Bombings
New tourism figures released by Indonesia's Bureau of Statistics
show that the number of foreign visitors to Bali is continuing
to plunge after three suicide bombings last October. Following
the bombing which killed 20 people, not including the three
bombers, tourist arrivals fell by 60-percent in October and
another 22-percent in November. Some 67,700 foreign visitors
traveled to Bali in November, down from October's 86,800.
The bureau said the fall remained attributable to the bomb
attacks. Tourism to Indonesia overall also fell by almost
nine percent in November possibly because of increased warnings
from Australian and other western governments. No official
figures are yet available for December but some tourism operators
in Bali say they have made up in part for the loss of business
from Australia by attracting large numbers of new visitors
from Russia. (January 3rd 2006, ABC Asia Pacific TV / Radio
Australia)
Three Indonesians Shot by Timor Leste Police
Three Indonesian citizens from Tobe village, Raihat sub district,
Belu regency, East Nusa Tenggara were shot dead by the police
patrol on the border of Timor Leste on Friday (6/1) at 11.45
am Eastern Indonesian Time (WITA). During the incident, the
three were fishing on the border of Turiskain, Malibaca River,
near the neutral zone of the two countries’ border.
According to 161 Military Resort Command/Wirasakti Col. Infantry
APJ Bola, the inhabitants were shot by eight bullets. “They
were shot on location. During the shooting, there were no
warnings from the Timor Leste border patrol,” stated
Bola. According to Col. Bola, the Indonesian government has
launched a strong protest to Timor Leste. Based on the prevailing
procedure, it is forbidden to shoot at unarmed civilians.
The three nationals were Stanis Maubere, Jose Mausorte and
Kandido Mariano. (January 4th 2006, Tempo)
Bird Flu Kills 12th Indonesian Man
Indonesian health officials confirmed Monday (2/1) a man who
died January 1st was infected with the H5N1 avian flu virus.
The World Health Organization has yet to conduct its own tests
and if the organization verifies the infection, the man will
be the 12th to die in the country since the bird flu outbreak
began in 2003. Senior Health Ministry official Hariadi Wibisono
said local tests confirmed the 39-year-old man had the virus
and had been in contact with dead chickens. Meanwhile a 29-year-old
woman with possible bird flu is being treated in Jakarta's
Sulianto Saroso hospital. Sri Mukti developed pneumonia-like
symptoms on Thursday (5/1) after coming into contact with
her neighbor’s dead chickens. Last week, the Indonesian
government said it would need nearly $1 billion in the next
two years to fight the spread of bird flu. More than 70 people
have died from the H5N1 virus in Southeast Asia, and two teenagers
in Turkey also have died. (January 9th 2006, UPI)
