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Timor Tengah Utara Legislators Deny Intimidating Doctor
🇮🇩 Indonesia /Health & Science

Timor Tengah Utara Legislators Deny Intimidating Doctor

From CNN Indonesia · () Indonesian

Translated from Indonesian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Under investigation
  • Three members of the Timor Tengah Utara DPRD and one civil servant are being investigated for allegedly intimidating a doctor.
  • The accused deny the allegations, stating the interaction was a "heated discussion" about patient care quality.
  • Their lawyer argued that the discussion was within the rights of patients to inquire about service quality, citing health laws.

Three regional legislators and one civil servant from Timor Tengah Utara (TTU) are undergoing investigation at the East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Regional Police for allegedly intimidating Dr. Eliza Princila Pakaenoni, known as Dokter Icha. The accused, identified as Therensius Lazakar (Golkar), Norbertus Tubani (PKB), Veronika Lake (PDIP), and civil servant veterinarian Maria Mathildis Sau, were reported by Dokter Icha's family.

In principle, we emphasize that based on the facts experienced by our clients, there was no intimidation.

— Amos LauLegal counsel for the accused, denying allegations of intimidation.

Represented by their legal counsel, Amos Lau, the four individuals have denied any intimidation. Lau asserted that the interaction on June 13, 2026, at Leona Hospital was merely a "heated discussion" between the accused and Dokter Icha regarding the quality of medical services. He emphasized that his clients were acting within their rights as patients seeking information about the best possible care.

"In principle, we emphasize that based on the facts experienced by our clients, there was no intimidation," Lau stated after the investigation. He explained that the discussion was a legitimate exercise of a patient's right to inquire about and receive information concerning the quality of care they are entitled to, a right he claims is protected by health laws.

So there was no intimidation because everything was within the framework of a patient's right to obtain information.

— Amos LauExplaining that the interaction was a discussion about patient rights.

Lau expressed hope that the investigators would understand the perspective of the four accused, who were questioned for several hours. The two female accused, Veronika Lake and Maria Mathildis Sau, were examined at the NTT Police's Directorate for Women and Children Protection and Combating Human Trafficking, while Therensius Lazakar and Norbertus Tubani were questioned by the Directorate of General Criminal Investigation.

Based on our clients' statements, what happened on the 13th (June) was a discussion, a heated conversation between our clients in the context of being patients who have the right to ask, question, and get information about the best quality they should receive for those who are sick.

— Amos LauDescribing the nature of the interaction between the accused and the doctor.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by CNN Indonesia in Indonesian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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