Jakarta – Banten Police have charged three people connected to Drajat Prawiranegara Hospital in Serang, Banten, for allegedly charging illegal levies for delivering the bodies of Sunda Strait tsunami victims to their families.
One of the suspects, identified as F, is a staff member of the hospital's forensic department. The other two – identified as I and B – are employees of CV Nauval Zaidan, a company that provided ambulance services for the hospital.
Banten Police special crimes directorate officer Sr. Comr. Dadang Herli Saputra said Drajat Prawiranegara Hospital had handled the bodies of 34 victims of the Sunda Strait tsunami since Dec. 23. At least 11 of them were delivered to their families using ambulances provided by CV Nauval Zaidan.
"The suspects [allegedly] charged six of the families when handing over the bodies, while five others were transported for free," Dadang said, as quoted by kompas.com.
The officer added each family received unofficial proof of the transaction of the illegal levy, although he did not specify the amount of money paid. Investigators seized the proofs of transaction and cash amounting to Rp 15 million (US$1,029).
The police charged the suspects with violating the 2001 Corruption Law, which carries a maximum punishment of 20 years' imprisonment and Rp 1 billion in fines.A 3-meter tsunami hit Banten and Lampung on the night of Dec. 22 as a result of an abnormal tidal surge caused by a full moon and an underwater landslide triggered by the eruption of the Anak Krakatau volcano. As of Saturday, authorities reported that at least 431 people had been killed and 7,200 injured during the disaster. (kuk/ebf)