FAKE SURGEON ARRESTED AFTER FATAL BREAST OP
>> Police have arrested a 29-year-old man in Pattaya for pretending to be a surgeon in a Lampang clinic and attempting to perform a breast implant operation on a transgender woman who later died after the procedure late last month.
Jiratchaya Kampoon died on Oct 29, a day after she underwent the surgery at the Divine Clinic in Lampang’s Muang district.
The Lampang Provincial Court on Thursday approved a warrant for the arrest of Thanatpong Jittheerapirom, a Bangkok resident suspected of performing the operation on Jiratchaya. He was charged with manslaughter.
According to police, Mr Thanatpong was arrested at an apartment in a soi behind the Hollywood entertainment venue in Pattaya at noon yesterday. He was taken to Pattaya police station for questioning.
Police were tipped off that Mr Thanatpong had fled Lampang for Pattaya in a grey Mitsubishi car.
The officers later found the Mitsubishi sedan at the apartment, where they then waited for the suspect to turn up. He was arrested and taken to Pattaya police station.
Mr Thanatpong, according to police, admitted he was the person subject to the warrant and confessed to the charge. However, he said he would give his statements in court.
Mr Thanatpong was reported t o have assumed a real doctor’s name while working, and a white gown bearing this name was found in the Divine Clinic.
According to police, a doctor going by this name currently works in a clinic in Bangkok and denies any involvement in the Lampang case.
Jiratchaya was said to have paid 35,000 baht for the breast augmentation procedure. She woke up three hours after the operation but lost consciousness again shortly afterwards. She was rushed to hospital, where she went into a coma.
An autopsy found Jiratchaya died of asphyxiation after her lungs collapsed.
Police said the Divine Clinic, which opened in May, was operating without a licence. Records show the clinic applied for a licence in May but the application was rejected.
According to police, even though Jiratchaya had signed a consent form with the clinic, the facility is liable for operating without a permit.
Mr Thanatpong said he used to work in other clinics assisting doctors. He observed the doctors perform surgery. He did some research on cosmetic surgery until he was able to gain enough experience before opening the clinic in Lampang eight months ago.
No other patients had complained of malpractice, he said, adding Jiratchaya might have suffered from severe fatigue from lack of sleep and eating that compounded her post-surgery condition.