"This (kidney) trade is not a case of malpractice but a crime in the form of human trafficking," Adj. Comm. Arie Darmanto, head of the Human Trafficking Unit of the Directorate General of General Crimes of the General Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) of the Indonesian National Police (Polri), stated here on Wednesday.
"We have to evaluate several facts and pieces of evidence based on the law on the elimination of the human trafficking crime. The facts and evidence should involve a process element, approach, and purpose," he explained.
The Bareskrim will, therefore, seek explanations from experts this week as part of its efforts to investigate the recent kidney trade case.
"We will seek explanations from experts of the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) and the Ministry of Healthy," Arie noted.
He emphasized that the opinion of an expert was needed to gain an understanding of the standard operating procedure (SOP) on kidney donors.
"We need their explanations regarding the SOP to find whether a violation occurred. There could be two types of violation: violations on ethical codes or on the law," he affirmed.
The Bareskrim had earlier exposed a kidney trade syndicate and arrested three suspects.
"The suspects are HS alias H, AG alias A, and DD alias D," Head of Unit III of the Directorate General of General Crimes of the Bareskrim, Sr Comm. Umar Surya Fana stated.
"In this case, HS acted as a middleman to hospitals. AG and DD acted as donor recruiters," Umar revealed.
Some 15 victims are believed to have donated their kidneys in this case.
In a bid to collect pieces of evidence, the police, on Thursday (Feb. 2), conducted a search of the medical record room in the Kencana Building of the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital (RSCM). During the search, which lasted almost eight hours, the police investigators seized a large box containing several documents.
The RSCM is one of the three hospitals suspected of conducting kidney transplant operations as part of the alleged kidney trade. The two other hospitals are known by the initials C and AW. (WDY)
