According to Islamic rules, the deceased must be buried as soon as possible.
However, before that, M Djamil Hospital in Padang City declared that the family of 6-month-old Alif Putr was not allowed to bring the boy’s body to burial until they paid the hospital bill.
Alif’s uncle and a series of other motorbike drivers decided to take action to protest. Video taken by phone showed the motorcade leaving the hospital, including a man hugging Alif’s body.
"After discovering that the boy’s family could not take Alif to his burial home because they could not pay the 25 million rupiah bill (about $ 1,774 ) they owed to the hospital, we decided to take action," said Wardiansyah, a motorbike taxi driver, told the BBC.
"The guards at the hospital tried to stop us, but then they gave up because we were too crowded," he added.
The video of the incident spread quickly on the Internet and sparked mixed opinions on how to handle cases of inability to pay for hospital fees.
Before that, there were many cases where Indonesian clinics and hospitals did not allow relatives to take newborn bodies home because the hospital fee had not been paid.
President Joko Widodo has implemented a national health care program, but the program has problems with funding and many poor families cannot participate.
Dewi Surya, Alif’s mother, said that when the boy was sick, the family was in the process of enrolling in a health care program.
The hospital later apologized and pledged not to repeat this situation. Hospital director Yusirwan Yusuf said the hospital council paid the bills and the incident was a misunderstanding.
The director also criticized the motorbike taxi driver group, saying that this is a reckless and dangerous action.
"We have a standard operating procedure and it has not been complied with. It is too much. What if the boy’s body has an infectious disease? Who will be responsible," the director said.
A representative of the motorbike taxi driver group later apologized to the hospital management.
"On behalf of my colleagues, I apologize for this incident and we are only aiming to restore the image of the hospital. We are not aware of the procedures. They take too much time, which is reasonable." why we made that decision, "this representative explained.
