Jakarta. A young doctor in Semarang recently took her own life after relentless bullying by her seniors. 

The 30-year-old woman, known by her initials ARL, was in a specialist program at the Faculty of Medicine at Semarang’s Diponegoro University. The Tegal resident was found lifeless at her studio flat in Lempongsari on Monday. The Semarang police reported that the cause of death was suicide by self-injection.

ARL’s suicide caught the public attention following a viral post on the social media platform X. The post -- uploaded by @bambangsuling11 -- revealed that she allegedly could not stand getting bullied by her seniors at her university’s specialist program. In a press statement, Diponegoro University has denied the bullying claims. The university said that ARL had health problems that affected her studies. They, however, did not go into detail about the health problems that ARL had.

Chief Cultural Affairs Minister Muhadjir Effendy acknowledged that the medical field -- just like other sectors -- had its very own seniority structure. The minister also called for people across all fields to uphold ethics to prevent similar cases from happening. Muhadjir said that the government already had the omnibus health law which aimed at safeguarding medical students from bullying.

“The new health law gives the government greater authority to prevent instances of seniority complex,” Muhadjir told the press at the State Palace in Jakarta on Thursday.

If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts or crisis, please reach out to https://www.intothelightid.org/tentang-bunuh-diri/hotline-dan-konseling.