Malaysia: Adventist Hospital Wins Award

Penang, Malaysia….[ANN Staff] Penang Adventist Hospital received a three-year accreditation from the Malaysian Society for Quality in Health (MSQH), making it only the third private hospital in Malaysia to achieve the prestigious status.

Teddric J. Mohr, Penang Adventist Hospital president, called accreditation “A way to continue and improve quality through the eyes of an independent professional organization.”

Mohr said the MSQH accreditation has made the hospital strive for even more focus in delivery of patient care, patient safety, and staff development with better integration of services. Penang Adventist Hospital is a 212-bed facility established in 1924.

Update on Moldova Court Case

Kishiniov, Moldova….[ESD Staff/ANN] Seventh-day Adventist leaders in Moldova have received the written court decision in the case of four Adventist workers who were fired for not working on a Saturday, their day of worship.

According to Moldova’s top appeals court, their employer had a right to fire the workers under Moldovan law. The decision was described as “irrevocable.”

“The church in Moldova is considering what to do next,” says Valery Ivanov, communication director for the Adventist Church in Euro-Asia. “Based on advice from world church leaders, they must carefully consult with lawyers and other experts before deciding whether to make an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France. The outcome of such a case could affect Adventists and other religious believers all over Europe.”

Update on Recent Violence in Russia

Moscow, Russia….[ESD Staff/ANN] Four teenage suspects have been arrested on suspicion of murdering the night watchman at a Seventh-day Adventist Church in central Russia. The murdered guard was found at the Cheboksary Adventist Church in December, according to regional church leader Vitaly Bakhtin. The murder case will soon begin proceeding through the local court system.

Also in the Volga-Vyatskaya region of Russia, police continue to investigate the Feb. 4 arson of an Adventist Church in Saransk. Bakhtin reported in early March that no arrests have been made.

In another central Russian city, Nizhnekamsk, investigators have concluded that the assailant who knifed an Adventist pastor’s son last November was mentally ill.

Adventist leaders in the area are unsure whether or not the trend of violence against religious minorities is coincidental. Earlier this winter the church brought the recent attacks to the attention of a top regional representative of the Russian presidential administration. He has since urged police to pay careful attention to these and other investigations of potential hate crimes.

“The laws in our region are adequate,” says Bakhtin, “but in some areas they are not always implemented.”

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