The High Court has ruled on what is the first reported death from liposuction in Singapore — the doctors involved were ordered to pay $5.32 million in damages to the family of the victim, Franklin Heng Ang Tee.
In this fascinating report by Today’s Neo Chai Chin, the judge uses admirable logic informed by evidence to decide on the final settlement amount (the administrators of Heng’s estate was originally asking for $12.9 million). Some claims were rejected, some were modified.
For example, the victim’s children wanted to claim for future tertiary education overseas, but the judge said Heng had not demonstrated any intention to support and fund their overseas tertiary education.
Heng’s estate asked for $1,200 a month to support his 94-year-old mother, but there was no evidence of Heng regularly giving money to his mother. Still, teh judge awarded $20,000 to pay for her medical expenses.
“The bulk of the sum is for the loss of inheritance of Heng’s children, for which Justice Choo Han Teck awarded $3.88 million. In a judgment made public on Tuesday (May 26), he also awarded $1.18 million for the support of Heng’s ex-wife Peggy Quek and the two children, who are now aged 18 and 16,” reports Neo Chai Chin in Today.
Heng had suffocated to death after being given too much sedative during a liposuction in December 2009. The doctors — Wong Meng Hang and Zhu Xiu Chun — was found to have failed to properly monitor his condition. They admitted liability in 2012.
Photo: Terence Ong via Wikipedia
