Another botched circumcision emerges

SEGAMAT: A third case of a circumcision gone wrong has come to light, prompting the Health Ministry to urge victims to take such cases to court.

The victim, a 10-year-old boy, has to use a catheter and a urine bag after severe damage to his penis.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said parents of victims of botched circumcisions should file civil suits to get compensation.

“The ministry can suspend the licences of medical practitioners if they are found to be negligent by the Malaysian Medical Council,” he said during a visit to Pekan Batu Anam here yesterday.

Dr Subramaniam said hundreds of thousands of circumcisions were carried out every year in the country and that minor complications were bound to happen.

But there were never any serious cases like these, even when traditional methods were widely used, he added.

A portion of the boy’s private parts was severed by an assistant medical officer at a mass circumcision ceremony at a surau in Sungai Buloh on Nov 25.

The bleeding could not be stopped and the victim was rushed to Hospital Selayang.

The doctors were unable to reattach the head of the boy’s penis, which had already turned black.

The boy was then sent to a private hospital and underwent three surgeries, which were also unsuccessful.

On Dec 15, a nine-year-old boy had the glans of his penis severed during a circumcision at a private clinic in Jalan Ipoh.

Five days later, a 10-year-old boy lost the head of his penis as he was undergoing laser circumcision at a Taman Cheras Utama clinic.