The Straits Times has this rather odd and sad story…
The family of a pharmaceutical company executive, who died at the age of 44 following a liposuction procedure in 2013, lost a substantial source of financial support as a result of her death, her husband has said.
The family of a pharmaceutical company executive, who died at the age of 44 following a liposuction procedure in 2013, lost a substantial source of financial support as a result of her death, her husband has said.
He made the claim in a medical negligence suit in the High Court against the surgeon who carried out the operation.
Madam Yeong Soek Mun, also known as Mandy, earned about $420,000 a year as head of regional market development at Roche Diagnostics Asia Pacific, the court heard yesterday on the first day of trial.
Her husband, retired policeman Seto Wei Meng, 55, as the administrator of her estate, is suing surgeon Edward Foo Chee Boon for unspecified damages, which is to be assessed by the court.
A significant portion of his claim relates to the loss of support and loss of savings or inheritance claims.
Mr Seto, represented by Senior Counsel Kuah Boon Theng, contended that his wife paid for a large portion of the family’s expenses, including the educational expenses of their two sons, who were 13 and 17 when she died. She also supported her parents, he said.
He said Madam Yeong would have accumulated more wealth had she not died prematurely.
On June 28, 2013, Madam Yeong underwent a procedure at the TCS at Central Clinic to remove fat from her abdominal flanks, followed by a fat transfer to smooth the “dents” in her thighs. It was her third liposuction procedure at the clinic.
After a two-hour operation, she developed complications and was taken to Singapore General Hospital (SGH), where she died 21/2 hours later.
In 2014, a coroner’s inquiry found that she had died from pulmonary fat embolism, in which blood flow is blocked by fat particles.
The state coroner expressed concerns about how the time of Madam Yeong’s collapse was changed several times in the clinic’s records. He also criticised the 24-minute delay before an ambulance was called.
In 2016, Mr Seto filed a suit against Dr Foo. He alleged that Dr Foo did not obtain informed consent from his wife and that the medical care provided fell below the appropriate standard.
Dr Foo, represented by Senior Counsel N. Sreenivasan, contended that Madam Yeong had died from an extremely rare complication and that he had done all he could to save her life.
In 2018, the surgeon pulled SGH into the suit as a third party, claiming that it had failed to resuscitate Madam Yeong properly.
SGH, represented by Ms Mak Wei Munn, called the action a belated attempt to shirk responsibility.
