Hospital Guards Allegedly Ditch Mentally Ill Man in Field
Jakarta Globe, Zaky Pawas | February 18, 2011
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Police have questioned four security guards from a Bogor hospital after they allegedly dumped a mentally ill man in a field near the North Bogor Police subprecinct station.
Adj. Comr. Ilot Djuanda of the North Bogor Police confirmed on Thursday that the victim, identified as Angga Nugraha, was now being treated at Marzuki Mahdi psychiatric hospital in Bogor.
Ilot said that when police discovered the victim, they rushed him to a 24-hour clinic, which sent him on to Salak Hospital for further evaluation. Angga needed psychiatric care, so he was then transferred to Marzuki Mahdi Hospital.
“We received a complaint from a resident who I shall only identify as Suratman,” Ilot said. “Suratman told our officers that he saw four security guards from Azra Hospital carrying the man, Angga, and dumping him in a field nearby. So, we checked and yes, we found him.”
Ilot said Angga was discovered curled up in an empty field not far from the North Bogor Police station. He said residents who came across Angga initially feared he was dead because he was so still.
“When police arrived, we found him sleeping and in a very poor condition,” Ilot added. “He was wearing shorts and a white T-shirt. He was walking by the time we got to Salak Hospital, but was limping. The limp looks like it is from an old injury,” he said.
Ilot added that police had questioned the four security guards from Azra Hospital and said they admitted to taking Angga, who was not a patient there, to the field. According to Ilot, the security guards said Angga, a resident of Darmaraja district in Sumedang, West Java, was causing a disturbance in the hospital parking lot.
When Angga wouldn’t leave, the guards decided to carry him to the field, Ilot said, adding that the security guards had suspected he was suffering from mental illness.
“Whatever the reason, what they did was inhumane,” Ilot said. “Why didn’t they just bring him to us at the station?”
North Bogor Police subprecinct chief Comr. R. Lubis said the security guards had just been questioned and no formal charges had been laid.
“We regret their actions,” he said. “Our subprecinct office is so close to the hospital. Why didn’t they call us?”
Meanwhile, Suwignyo, human resources manager at Azra Hospital, denied that the security guards had “dumped” the sick man in the field, saying that they had just “moved” him to another location.
“Our security guards tried to get rid of him, but he refused to leave,” he said. “And then he ended up sleeping near the security guard’s post, so they had to move him. It was just across the road, nobody dumped him.
“The security guards thought he was just a stressed out sick man who lived nearby.”
When asked why the hospital did not contact police about this man, Suwignyo said, “the guards said he looked clean and had clean skin. We did not want to alarm anybody.”
Mentally ill people often fail to receive proper treatment in Indonesia. According to a 2007 Health Ministry survey, 4.6 percent of the population suffers from serious mental disorders, including schizophrenia.
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