In response...

When a medical emergency happens in any household, it is only natural that we rush the person to the nearest clinic/polyclinic or family doctor. Based on the treatment or recommendation of the doctor, we diligently follow verbatim.

We followed the instructions of the lady neighborhood doctor who after failing to treat June to go to TTSH….

The unnecessary long wait at the A & E to be admitted/warded was senseless….

As June was being treated, YES, we were informed of procedures. When she was in ICU, YES we were informed, when medication was given to her, YES, we were informed, when her condition worsen, YES, we were informed, when she took a turn for the worst, YES, we were TOLD to prepare for the worse. At the end of the day, we are not medically trained,… being informed of pre/post procedures helps BUT THROUGHOUT, we were NOT TOLD that June was suffering from Stevens Johnson Syndrome. In fact, I told them about it after searching medical journals on the internet.

Upon knowing that June had Stevens Johnson Syndrome, I wonder what the doctors tried doing to treat her condition. Being such a RARE condition, I would question the limited experience of the young doctors who were trying and experimenting with June’s life. I wonder (if any) what form of consultation took place with overseas doctors regarding this rarity of medical conditions…. And if proven that they did not, is it not irresponsible,… to the point of being negligent.

Well, we have complied with SMC’s requirement to indicate/include the names of the doctors who treated June in a formal complain before they investigate the case…..

Lets hope that they perform their task professionally, with propriety, without fear or favor……

Police Brute Force!!!

Why did my father go to such length to do this?.,… it’s because SMC did not bother with our plead to review my sister June’s case…

My parents, relatives, friends and I feel that the earlier verdict given by the state coroner is quite unacceptable.

Feeling frustrated, depressed and in complete and total despair, he did what he thought was the right thing…. i.e. to tear at himself for being so useless and pour out his sorrows….

My question to the relevant authorities… “is it necessary for the police officers and security personnel at SMC to deploy so much force (5 people in total) to pin down a 63 year old man?”. In some countries, such excessive action and brute force maybe considered Police Brutality….. he is not robber, nor a criminal and definitely not a terrorist!!!!. WHY SUCH FORCE?

In fact, my father is frail and sickly,…. He has diabetes, high blood pressure and of late suffering from depression because of the death of my sister June. How much threat can someone in this condition of health pose?. Surely, there can be NO REASON for such show of strength…

My father basically tore at his shirt and at himself out of despair….. NOT at or with anyone else. Yes, he made a scene…. But he was NOT violent nor was he confrontational…… he was basically staging a one man quiet protest. ‘IS THAT WRONG?”….. he only raised his voice when confronted by authorities, and even more so when he was MAN-HANDLED….. wouldn’t you react in the same way if treated in this manner?

Protest at Singapore medical council

On 10 November 2006, my mum received a call from my father who said that he was at the Singapore Medical Council. Wanted my mum and I to bring food and water to him. We went to the nearest coffee shop to buy 2 packets of lunch … then got into a cab to SMC.

Upon our arrival, we were greeted by reporters from various newspapers. I darted into the building and saw my father being arrested by 2 police officers, I shouted at them to let my father go,… my father told me “its ok,… let them do it”. At that moment, a well dressed man asked if I was the son of Mr Ng. I said “yes and asked who are you?”.

He introduced himself as a doctor at the SMC, and commented that my father was creating a nuisance of himself at the SMC. I said “so what!… you doctors killed my sister and I don’t give a flying shit who you are!”. I was very furious that my father was being bullied by Police Officers and the security staff of SMC…. Imagine 5 of them trying to bully a 63 year old man. and who incidentally is rather weak and ill himself.

I sternly asked the police to release my father or else…

The police woman answered back “Sir! Are u threatening me?”. I said “no .. I don’t make threats…. I make promises, and I promise I will slap you”. She was stunned and kept quiet.

In fact, they might have been afraid that I would also become physical with them. If it required 5 people to overpower an old man. How many people would they need for a younger person.

My father then said to me ‘it’s okay never mind, let them take me”. My father wanted this to happen. Upon hearing this, I pulled back my anger and went outside. They closed the doors not to let the media see what was happening. I kicked at the door causing it to fling open. I was so mad…. really wanted to break down the door.

I lit up a cigarette… and moments later, the police hauled my father out of the building and bundled him into the police vehicle. My father asked me for a cigarette, the police officer said “no your father is under arrest”. I ignored the remark, put the cigarette into his mouth and let him take a puff.

Upon seeing my father being bundled into the car my mum rush to him crying and asked “what happened?”… my father assured her that he will be ok. At this point, reporters were busy snapping pictures.

I asked the police where they were taking my father, they told me Police Cantonment Complex…. and drove off.

Then a reporter began to interview us.

After the interview they offered us a ride to police cantonment complex.

Within minutes we reached the police cantonment complex.

My mom and I went through security checks and enquired about my father at the report room.

The police officer told us that my father was still under police investigation and would inform us if there is any outcome .

Knowing that we will not see my father so soon, I told my mum that we’d better go home first and wait for news of his situation.

A few hours later (at home), my mum suddenly recalled that my father needed his medication. Without hesitation, I grabbed his medication and took a train down to cantonment complex.

Upon arriving I informed the police officer on duty at the front desk about the condition of my father and his need for medication.

He picked up the phone and called the lock up room.

Moments later he directed me to the bail office in the basement. I knocked on the window, explained to the officer there that my father required his medication and without hesitation, he took it to my father. Thereafter, I proceeded outside the building for a smoke.

Half an hour later, my father called me on my hand phone, telling me to go to the bail office to bail him out.

I rushed back to the bail office, signed a $5.000 bail bond for my father and almost immediately, he was released.

I asked my father if he was okay?... he looked at me with eyes filled with tears and said “what else can I do….”

June we love you forever...

can contact me at shinn_impulse@hotmail.com

Eventually, everyone will loose their love ones…. old age, illness and incidents, etc… however the events that took my sisters’ life forever… was not because of an accident, serious illness or old age. It was due to negligence,… because the doctor administering giving a prescription meant to kill a common flu,… instead ‘killing’ my sister. The pain and agony my sister suffered SHOULD NOT have happened…

It all started when June (my sister) was having a bout of the flu, the normal thing to do was off course to see a doctor. So she visited a private clinic which was situated just under her block. After consultation, the lady doctor "doctor jane" prescribed medication to treat her flu and fever. She went home and consumed the medication given to her. The next day June complained that her joints were aching. She revisited the clinic, consulted same lady doctor and this time round, was given a prescription of pain killer and antibiotics.

June’s fever worsen,… so she went back to the see doctor Jane again for the 3^rd time in only 3 days,… this time around, she was given an injection and doctor Jane wrote June a referral letter to the hospital in the event her fever worsens. Around midnight, seeing that she was not getting any better, my brother in law drove her to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, A and E department.

After consultation, the A and E doctor wrote her a MC (medical certificate) to indicate that she was not fit for work and sent her home without considering maybe warding her for her for observation… the next day June’s condition worsen three-fold, she could not take any food or water… what ever she took she vomited,she called doctor Jane and told her that she was feeling very very terrible and pleaded whether she can make a house call , but instead making the house call personally , she just ask my sister question on the line how she feeling and wat symptoms and she just prescribe the medicine and told my mum to go down to clinic to collect the medicine. after june consume the medication she got worse !!! my mother ran downstair to find doctor jane when she got to the clinic she already left . feeling desprate she call my father . when my father arrived at her place, she was clinging to the toilet bowl vomiting everything out. My father told her that she had nothing to vomit out….. without hesitation my father rushed her to Tan Tock Seng Hospital by taxi.

June was admitted on 12^th July 2005 1700hrs. for high fever with rashes all over her body. She was breathing with much difficulty, so the hospital staff gave her oxygen to help her to breathe. she was dumped at 1 corner at a holding area they with other patients suffer from all kind of sickness and injuries. On the morning of 13^th July 0600hrs., after waiting for 12 hours, she was finally warded and given a bed at Ward 10B. That same day she developed blisters all over her body, then her skin started shedding off….. alarming the doctors on duty who eventually called in a Skin Specialist.

The Skin Specialist diagnosed that June was suffering from a drug allergy and recommended a medication which cost S$2,000 for 2 days to be injected into her. My father said that even if it cost S$20,000, he was willing to pay.

My mother asked one of the male doctor in attendance why the hospital did not admit June earlier that evening on 12^th July 2005, he replied in Chinese “thing had past already don’t talk about it anymore” his reply was so irresponsible!. I was thinking what the hell… that is a human life they are dealing with!.

June’s skin became so delicate that even the slightest touch on her body would make her skin came off exposing the flesh. When the nurse helped her to pass motion, they grabbed her by the arm causing her to scream out because of the excruciating pain. My father rushed to the bed and scolded the nurse and pleaded with them to be careful with her. The next morning 14^th July, her condition took a turn for the worst and she was transferred to N.I.C.U. department on the 3^rd floor, a tube was inserted into her mouth, down the wind pipe straight to her lungs to help her to breathe. Dr. Benjamin Ho told us she had infection on the skin and in the lungs. June’s skin was slowly turning black in color and peeling off. I was in shock, upon seeing her skin condition deteriorate so rapidly before my eyes, I was wondering how could modern science allow this to happen, Do these ‘great’ medical doctors with hundreds of thousands of hours of experience even know what they are doing?...

June was given morphine for pain and domicum to help her sleep and adrenaline to boost blood pressure. Dun ask me how I know coz I was with her all the while in I.C.U.

I paid special attention on her heartbeat, blood pressure, fluid level, oxygen level and all the vital signs that was showing on the computer, I even learnt to read the monitoring chart from an India doctor Dr Asheesh in N.I.C.U. .

June’s skin was peeling off even more as the days went by. Tan Tock Seng Hospital wanted to transfer her to the burnt unit in Singapore General Hospital. Obviously Tan Tock Seng Hospital was not capable of handling June’s special case... by now, her skin looked like one that was burnt by fire. All they can do was to give her ANTIBIOTICS to fight against infection, ANDRENALINE to keep her blood pressure up, MORPHINE and DOMICUM to lessen her pain and kept her in daze. When she was conscious I asked June whether she was in pain. She responded by shaking her head.

June was transferred to the medical intensive care unit on the 6^th floor,… I was constantly hounding the doctors about my sister’s condition, and more importantly,… what illness was she suffering from, they just told me she was very ill.

I was not happy with the answers given to me. Based on the symptoms she displayed and upon checking the internet,… she may have contacted the ‘Stevens Johnson Syndrome’ or Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis. I tried to sound Dr Pan, a young doctor in medical intensive care unit, he was surprised that I actually know what is it, he said that June had indeed contacted Stevens Johnson Syndrome.

I was very furious that the Tan Tock Seng Hospital doctors kept it from us…. Don’t we as family members have the right to know her condition???. We disciplined ourselves to stop going inside the room for fear that we might bring in germs that would cause infection and worsen her condition…

With the ventilator tube inside her throat and causing tremendous discomfort, June would sometimes try to pull it out. Each time, the nurse would have to put it back into her. I told June to bear with the discomfort and not to attempt to pull out the tube again. i ask the nurse why they bind her both hands to the bed side .they told me to prevent her from pulling the tube out...

As days went by,… her skin gradually improved, we were overjoyed hoping, thinking and praying that the worst was over and that she was on the road to recovery.

On the morning of 23^rd July 2005, Dr Benjamin Ho told us that June encountered another complication… air was leaking from the wind pipe and was ‘trapped’ under the skin tissue. I saw from the X-RAY that the chest skin was about 1 inch off the rib cage bone. I asked the doctor why this was happening?.

Dr Benjamin Ho told us it may have been caused when June pulled out the tube and thereafter the nurses tried to put it back in causing injury to the windpipe in the throat. He added that June’s lung was not in very good shape. Her lung was almost white base on the X-ray they took 12 hourly. Jason (June’s husband) and I were devastated, we thought she going to be alright and was recovering. Without our knowledge she was sedated. Reason given was to stop her from pulling out the tube again or she attempts to fight the machine. As days went by her vital signs was failing. on 25^th July her oxygen level was falling below 85, her BP was very low, heartbeat was obove 150 per min., to she took her last breathe at 9am 26 July she was bleeding blood from the mouth ,ears and eyes when she die. she was only 26.

June is one of the victims of some irresponsible doctors in modern Singapore today !

How could this happen when Singapore swore to be medical hub of the world?

or is it because lower income Singaporean life is dispensable?

june we love you forever...