Man sues govt hospital over circumcision that went awry

KUALA LUMPUR: A man is suing the directors of two government hospitals and four others, including the government, for negligence over a circumcision that went awry when he was eight years old.

The man, now 18, who claimed to be permanently incapacitated due to the incident, filed the suit through his mother, who is named the plaintiff, on July 19 this year.

Besides the government, which is the sixth defendant, she named a medical assistant and a medical officer at Kuala Lipis Hospital in Pahang and its director, as well as a specialist doctor and director of Selayang Hospital in Selangor, as the first to fifth defendant, respectively.

In the statement of claim, the plaintiff stated that on Dec 13, 2010, at 10 am, the first defendant (medical assistant) and an assistant had conducted circumcision procedures on two boys, including his son, at a residence in Kuala Lipis, Pahang, with the knowledge and permission of the second and third defendant (Kuala Lipis medical officer and director, respectively).

She claimed that during the circumcision, the first defendant did not follow the stipulated procedure and cut her son's entire penis head, with the foreskin still intact.

The woman claimed that because of the negligence, the head of her son's penis was severed, adding that the medical assistant attempted to stitch back the severed part, but claimed it was not performed according to procedures.

She also claimed that when her son was at the Kuala Lipis Hospital, the second defendant did not provide immediate treatment to the boy, as well as informed her and other family members that her son's glans of the penis was severed.

The woman claimed she was only informed that the cut affected her son's urinary tract.

She claimed that the second defendant was negligent for not stitching back the severed part of her son's penis and also took too long to decide to send her child for immediate treatment at the Selayang Hospital.

The plaintiff said her son was sent to Selayang Hospital where a surgery was done to stitch back the severed part, but on the 35th day, was shocked to find out that her son's penis had no head.

She claimed that the fourth defendant (specialist doctor at Selayang Hospital) had assured her that her son's penis glans would grow as he got older, but at the age of 17, her son remained incapacitated.