Indonesian police arrested five employees of pharma company Kimia Farma for reusing rapid antigen nasal swabs on as many as 10,000 air travelers at North Sumatra's Kualanamu International Airport over a period of four months. At least the suspects reportedly claim to have washed the swabs between use. From CNN:
The suspects have been charged with crimes under Indonesia's health law, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment if found guilty, and under the country's consumer protection law, which carries a maximum five-year prison sentence.
Among those arrested is Kimia Farma's Medan business manager. Police said each suspect had different roles to play in the scam, from washing the used cotton swabs, to repackaging the kit, and delivering the samples to the laboratory.
Police found recycled cotton swabs, recycled packaging, and 149 million rupiah ($10,000) in cash during the raid which netted the five suspects. Passengers paid 200,000 rupiah ($14) for each antigen test swab.
image (cropped): Raimond Spekking (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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