
	Min:24°C Max:32 °C » Weather Details


Updated 4.04 pm	ST Breaking News ST Digital Through the Lens

Home
Top Stories
Singapore
SE Asia
Asia
World
Money
Sport
Tech & Science
Lifestyle
Photos
Blogs
Discussion

The Straits Times

www.straitstimes.com

Singapore

Home > Breaking News > Singapore > Story

Jun 18, 2011

Dr Susan Lim's charges reasonable, says expert

Amount is in line with the surgeon's past earnings, according to his report

By Salma Khalik, Health Correspondent

In her own words

On the media attention over her case:'It's like I'm in some prolonged Halloween party and I've been masqueraded in a cloak of scandal.'

On the true wishes of her patient:'This is the problem when the patient is not alive. If she were alive, she would say this is exactly what I wanted. It's because people now looking at the bills were not privy to what happened in those years.'

On the impact of the case on her business: 'From being the most successful private practice in two locations, with a staff of 33, research labs, overseas collaborations, business ventures, we are now technically bankrupt.'

On how she reacted to the allegation of overcharging:'So okay, don't pay me then. And that was what was (my attitude). If you have any issue, don't pay me because I have my pride, but I can't say anything about the third-party costs, I'm not responsible for them.'

On going to Brunei to treat her patient:'It's an experience to be in a palace; we are common citizens, after all. It's such an experience, it was overwhelming.'

On how she risked damage to her vision to treat the patient while still recovering from a detached retina:'My staff met me at the Hyatt, they guided me up the lift, I was supported on both sides, I was wearing my eye patch, and I was walking like this (with head down). Honestly, the Hyatt people know me as the doctor with the one eye patch and the oxygen tanks.

'There I was, with that 20 minutes' allowance time when I could lift my head up to speak. Me, with my whole surgical career on a knife's edge because - would I ever see again? And there she was, breathless.'

On how she is coping emotionally:'This is not an emotional exercise. Let me tell you what's emotional. When you've been in my business for the last 30 years, 'emotional' is when you wake up one morning and you're faced with a diagnosis of cancer, and your world crumbles.

'And then it's so emotional because, at the end of the day, you realise you don't have a handle on your destiny.'

Timeline of the case

August 2007: The patient, Pengiran Anak Hajah Damit, dies.

July 2007: Brunei seeks Singapore's help after receiving the $24.8 million bill sent by Dr Susan Lim's office.

August 2007: Dr Lim gives a discount which brings the bill down to $12.1 million.

January 2010: The Singapore Medical Council (SMC) starts disciplinary hearings.

July 2010: The disciplinary committee (DC) steps down after being accused of pre-judging the case.

September 2010: SMC convenes a new DC to hear the case.

February 2011: Start of the judicial review by the High Court, sought by Dr Lim

May 31: Court finds in favour of the SMC.

June 30: Dr Lim has to decide by this date if she wants to appeal against the verdict.

The report by forensic accounting expert Owain Stone concluded that Dr Susan Lim's actual charges amounted to $6,484 an hour. This was well below the rate of $12,800 if he were to use the 2006 revenue earned by her company. He also concluded that if Dr Lim had not looked after her Bruneian patient, her group could have expected a daily revenue of $46,000. -- PHOTO: THE BUSINESS TIMES

DR SUSAN Lim's $12 million bill for treating her Brunei patient over a six-month period was reasonable based on her past earnings, said a forensic accounting expert in a report last year.

In his analysis, the accountant also benchmarked Dr Lim's fees against that earned by a top British surgeon who also saw the same patient; the salary of Singapore's Defence Minister, Dr Ng Eng Hen, before he joined the Government; and the amount made by top local earners in other professions.

These findings were submitted by Mr Owain Stone of KordaMenthaNeo in a 31-page expert report for the Singapore Medical Council hearing against Dr Lim.

The report was commissioned by Dr Lim, but Mr Stone states that he is aware that his 'primary duty is to the disciplinary tribunal' and not to the person who pays him.

The report, dated Jan 20, 2010, concluded that Dr Lim's actual charges amounted to $6,484 an hour.

This was well below the rate of $12,800 if he were to use the 2006 revenue earned by her company, he concluded.

Read the full story in Saturday's edition of The Straits Times.

salma@sph.com.sg