Wednesday May 6, 2009
Sujatha’s samples kept on going missing, inquest told
KUALA LUMPUR: Missing samples. This was the highlight of the inquest into the death of local actress K. Sujatha as it entered its fourth day yesterday.
Two doctors of the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital testified that they could not confirm what actually happened to the samples taken from the actress.
Dr Vengkata Prathab said he ordered samples of blood, urine and gastric lavage to be taken from the actress on the first day she was warded at the hospital’s emergency ward on June 19, 2007.
“I had ordered these samples to be taken immediately after she arrived at the emergency ward. However, doctors who treated her at the normal ward did not receive the report on the tests,” he said.
Dr Prathab agreed with Deputy Public Prosecutor Anselm Charles Fernandis, who was assisting coroner Mohd Fauzi Che Abu, that the results of the samples were very crucial to conclude that the patient died due to poisoning.
He told the coroner that personally, he had a bad experience when samples taken from his mother were also reported missing.
He said that although such cases occurred occasionally, doctors should not be singled out for blame as it involved several departments of the hospital.
“In Sujatha’s case, other doctors and I focused more on giving emergency treatment to the patient,” explained Dr Prathab.
He was testifying at the inquest into the death of Sujatha, 28, who died at the hospital in Klang on June 25, 2007, four days after admission for allegedly drinking weedkiller.
Medical officer Dr Lim Ai Wei testified that she had taken urine samples of Sujatha, the following day, to check for traces of paraquat.
“When I failed to receive the results, the following day, I personally went to the lab to check what had happened. But staff at the lab claimed that they did not receive the sample from the ward where Sujatha was treated,“ she explained.
The testimony from both doctors resulted in a heated exchange between Fernandis and counsel Datuk K. Kumaraendran, who was representing Maika Holdings Bhd chief executive officer S. Vell Paari, when Kumaraendran said it was not proper blaming doctors for the missing samples. — Bernama
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