Drugmakers at fault over toxic cough syrup, Indonesia court finds

Jakarta, Indonesia Reuters —

An Indonesian court ordered two local companies to pay up to 60 million rupiah ($3,850) to each family whose children died of an acute kidney injury or were seriously injured after consuming toxic cough syrup.

More than 200 children in Indonesia died of the injury and about 120 more survived, some of whom lived with disabilities which led to financial hardships for their parents.

Indonesian courts have cited lax oversight by pharmaceutical companies, including local drugmakers and some suppliers, as well as the country’s food and drugs agency (BPOM), in hearings into the poisonings.

In late 2022, more than 20 families launched a civil suit against the agency, the health ministry, and several companies.

A pharmacist empties a shelf filled with syrup at a pharmacy in Indonesia.

Related article Indonesia considers prosecutions over cough syrup suspected of links to child deaths

Judges at the Central Jakarta court found a drugmaker and a supplier, Afi Farma and CV Samudera Chemical, at fault in the poisonings, according to a ruling released late on Thursday.

The health ministry and the BPOM were cleared of wrongdoing.

The court ordered the companies to pay the parents who brought the suit compensation of 50 million rupiah for children who died and 60 million rupiah for children who were injured.

Parents had asked for 3.4 billion rupiah for each child that died, and 2.2 billion rupiah for survivors. Indonesia’s 2023 gross domestic product per capita was nearly $5,000, data from the country’s Statistics Bureau shows.

Siti Habiba, the lawyer for the parents, said the families were disappointed by the ruling, as the money was given “as though we were beggars.”

“This breaks a lot of the