Mum upset at award for death of son

KLANG: Nui Jia Yuan was the apple of his mother’s eye. 

When he died in 2003 because of complications during a circumcision procedure at a clinic in Banting, 34-year-old Lim Mei Leng felt like the world had collapsed around her. 

Yesterday, the Sessions Court here awarded her husband Nui Lian Seng RM27,000 in damages and costs in their civil suit against Dr Kubendran Munusamy. 

Lim, who was there with Nui, was in tears as she voiced her unhappiness over the amount. 

Judge Albaishah Abd Manan, when delivering her judgment, said she had granted the maximum amount of RM10,000 for bereavement damages under Section 7(3) of the Civil Law Act. 

The remainder was made up of documentation costs, funeral expenses and other costs and interest. 

According to the facts of the case, Jia Yuan, who was four then, was taken to Klinik dan Surgeri Kuben on March 26, 2003 after the boy complained of pain during urination. 

Dr Kubendran examined the boy and asked Nui and Lim to bring him in again on March 28 for circumcision. 

The boy and his parents arrived at the clinic at about 1pm and Dr Kubendran administered injections to the boy’s arm, buttocks and private parts before performing the procedure. 

The parents then took the boy home and the doctor informed them that he would regain consciousness within the next four to five hours. 

When the boy failed to wake up, Jia Yuan’s parents took him to the clinic at about 4pm. After examining him, Dr Kubendran told them to rush him to Banting Hospital. 

However, Jia Yuan had died on arrival. 

The autopsy report issued by KL Hospital’s forensic department cited asphyxia as the cause of Jia Yuan’s death.