THE committee in charge of the money donated to the Nepali conjoined twins says it is willing to pay for Jamuna's treatment at East Shore Hospital.

In a letter to The Straits Times yesterday, the committee said it had asked Dr Keith Goh, one of the neurosurgeons who separated the twins in 2001, to submit a detailed treatment plan and associated costs.

When contacted yesterday, Dr Michael Tan, chief executive officer of East Shore Hospital, said a plan would be submitted to the committee early next week. The committee is in charge of disbursing the $57,000 that remains from almost $670,000 donated to the twins by the public when they first came here seven years ago.

In its letter, the committee took issue with The Straits Times' story on Jamuna's treatment, which appeared on Thursday. It said the article gave the impression that it was reluctant to pay for the eight-year-old girl's medical expenses.

The letter was the committee's first indication that it was willing to pay for Jamuna's rehabilitation treatment, as well as various tests that have to be carried out, including a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan of her brain.

Several e-mail messages sent to it by The Straits Times were met with the same one-sentence reply: 'The Committee has replied to Dr Keith Goh.'

When asked earlier this week, Dr Goh himself said he was not certain about reimbursement, which was why he had postponed the MRI scan, which would cost over $1,000.

In response to ST's queries, he forwarded two letters he had received from the committee. The more recent one, dated Sept 26, said it would 'continue to consider payment of approved expenses for the recent request at class B2 non-resident rates'.

Jamuna, the surviving twin - her sister Ganga died on July 29 of pneumonia - arrived in Singapore on Sept 30. Almost half of her head has no bone covering. She also has a shortened right leg and deformed foot, as well as a weak right arm.

Dr Goh said she needs cranioplasty treatment for a hard covering to protect her brain. She also needs rehabilitation to learn to use her right arm and leg. She has been receiving intense therapy at East Shore for over a week now, and is already trying to use her arm and leg in a limited way.

Jamuna, who has been fitted with orthopaedic shoes with a two-inch platform on the right side, goes to the hospital daily for therapy.

Dr Tan said the total bill for tests done so far, plus the cost of a month's therapy, is likely to be around $10,000.