Since 2022, more than 200 Indonesian children have lost their lives as a result of the cough medicines. More than 100 cases have been reported in Gambia and Uzbekistan, and the WHO has since issued warnings about six cough medicines manufactured in India and Indonesia.
Doctors and the judiciary determined early on that the pharmaceutical company Afi Farma produced medicine that contained an excess of toxic substances. The case has now been decided in court.
According to the Indonesian Attorney General, between October 2021 and February 2022, the company received two batches of the substance propylene glycol, which is used to make the medicine, the BBC reports.
However, the lots contained 96% to 99% ethylene glycol.
Used in brake fluid
Both substances can be used as additives to solvents, but while propylene glycol is harmless and is often used in medicines, cosmetics and food, ethylene glycol is toxic and is used in paint, pencils and brake fluid.
The court has now ruled that the company did not test the ingredients used in the medicines and that it instead relied on quality and safety certificates from its supplier, writes the BBC.
The company’s lawyer tells BCC that the defendants deny negligence, but despite this, the pharmaceutical company’s top manager and three other executives are sentenced to prison for two years.