Tainted Coke made my hair fall out: plaintiff

JAKARTA (Kyodo)

A Japanese national has filed a lawsuit against an Indonesian subsidiary of U.S.-based Coca-Cola Co., claiming he suffered hair loss after drinking a bottle of Coke containing a piece of mosquito coil, his attorney said Friday.

Attorney Ike Farida told Kyodo News that Masaharu Takasu filed the lawsuit against P.T. Coca-Cola Indonesia at the South Jakarta District Court on Thursday.

He is also suing P.T. Coca-Cola Distribution Indonesia, P.T. Coca-Cola Bottling Indonesia, the government's Food and Drug Monitoring Agency and the vendor who sold him the Coke, Farida said.

"Our client has lost some of his hair since he drank the Coke," Farida said.

According to the lawyer, the incident occurred Oct. 19 when Takasu bought and drank two-fifths of a 193-ml bottle of Coke in the South Jakarta district of Bintaro. Soon afterward, he felt a burning sensation in his throat and chest, developed a headache and felt queasy.

Upon inspecting the inside of the Coke bottle, he was shocked to find a piece of mosquito coil floating on the beverage. He immediately went to Bintaro International Hospital for medical treatment and filed a complaint with Coca-Cola.

Farida said the beverage company agreed to pay his expenses for the hospital treatment and offered him two dozen Cokes for free.

The English-language Jakarta Post said P.T. Coca-Cola Indonesia had confirmed the offer and said it was told by a doctor who examined Takasu that he was in good health.

Takasu, however, rejected the offer and instead demanded that the firm pay compensation, offer an apology and withdraw all bottled Coke from the market until it is confirmed that the products are safe for consumption.

Farida refused to disclose the amount of compensation the Japanese man has demanded.

"The quality of their (P.T. Coca-Cola Indonesia) products have become a big question for us," he said.