Hundreds Of Residents Of Purwasedar Village Sukabumi Suspected Of Poisoning Rice Boxes

PHOTO: ANTARA/Aditya Rohman

SUKABUMI - Hundreds of residents living in Purwasedar Village, Sukabumi Regency, West Java, are suspected of being poisoned by boxed rice given by one of the residents who held a thanksgiving after returning from Hajj in Saudi Arabia.

"There are currently 129 people suspected of being poisoned by boxed rice in the Ciracap sub-district," said Ciracap District Disaster Management Officer (P2BK) Dadang Priatna as reported by ANTARA, Friday, July 29.

Of these, said Dadang Priatna, only eight people were being treated at the Ciracap Health Center, while the other eight were referred to Jampangkulon Hospital, Sukabumi Regency.

Information from various sources stated that the mass poisoning began during the thanksgiving ceremony for a married couple from Ciceuri Village, RT 012/003, Purwasedar Village on Thursday (28/7) at around 16.00 WIB. The couple invited about 150 residents.

Residents who took part in the thanksgiving event also received gifts in the form of boxed rice with a menu of white rice, fried chicken serundeng, fried noodles, and others.

After the event, some residents ate the rice box at the location.

After eating the boxed rice menu, they did not feel any symptoms of poisoning. However, symptoms of poisoning such as nausea, dizziness, frequent urination, and vomiting began to be felt by the victims on Friday at around 10.30 WIB.

It turns out that not only one or two people experience such symptoms, but the number continues to grow. At first it was only a dozen, then it grew to tens eventually reaching a hundred people.

The puskesmas officers who were overwhelmed by the large number of patients who came and the limited wards were forced to receive treatment in various rooms.

After being given treatment, the majority of residents chose outpatient treatment at their respective homes.

He mentioned 16 residents who are still undergoing treatment at the puskesmas and hospital because their bodies are weak and still have frequent vomiting. However, until now there has been no information on casualties in the mass poisoning case.

"Medical officers and elements of the Ciracap Muspika are still at the puskesmas to anticipate the possibility that there are still people who have been poisoned who have not received medical treatment," Dadang added.

Meanwhile, the Head of the Community Empowerment Section of the Civil Service Police Unit (Satpol PP) of Sukabumi Regency, Okih Fajri, said that the Sukabumi District Health Office had determined this mass poisoning case as an extraordinary event (KLB) because the number of victims was mass affected although there were no reports of casualties. .

He said the majority of residents who experienced symptoms of poisoning had returned home and their health conditions were gradually recovering.

To reveal the cause of this incident, the health office and the local police have taken food samples and asked for information from a number of witnesses.