Two plead guilty to human organ trading in first such case in S'pore - Singapore's Online Community

***StarDust*** · 28-06-2008, 07:44 AM

Two plead guilty to human organ trading in first such case in S'pore
By Hasnita Majid, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 27 June 2008 2235 hrs

SINGAPORE: In the first case of its kind, two Indonesian men have been convicted of organ trading. 26-year-old Sulaiman Damanik and 27-year-old Toni, both Indonesians, are due to be sentenced next week.

Both men also pleaded guilty in a Subordinate Court on Friday to making false declarations to a hospital transplant ethics committee.

The court heard that Sulaiman Damanik had agreed to donate his kidney for 150 million rupiah or about S$23,700 in an arrangement made with several people earlier this month.

He had lied that there were no financial gains involved in the living donor transplant and that he was related to Tang Wee Sung, the intended recipient named in court documents.

Channel NewsAsia is unable to confirm at this point if Mr Tang is CK Tang's 56-year-old executive chairman, who is known to be suffering from kidney disease.

Sulaiman said that his aunt was married to the brother-in-law of Mr Tang's niece. But Sulaiman was found out before the transplant could be carried out.

The transplant operation involving Toni went ahead with his kidney going to a woman named Juliana Soh.

Toni, who admitted to acting as a middleman between Sulaiman and Mr Tang, received 186 million rupiah or about S$29,390 for his kidney. The operation took place in March.

Both men will be sentenced next week.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) said that a number of Singaporeans are assisting with the investigation.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a community event, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said his ministry will take action against anyone engaging in illegal human organ transactions.

He said he understands that some patients may be desperate because it's a life and death situation. But, still, he stressed they should never break the law.

Mr Khaw said: "It is wrong to do so. But of course there are people who are desperate and they may push the boundary. So I think we have to be alert and each time we hear of such an allegation, we have to investigate and if people break the law, then they have to face the law."

He added that if Singapore wants to be a regional hub for organ transplantation, it not only needs high clinical standards but also ethical standards.

Mr Khaw said the ethics committee in hospitals was set up to thoroughly interview and counsel patients as well as donors to ensure proper consent. Otherwise, cases of exploitation will occur.

He added: "It's either your relative who wants to donate (their organ) to give to their relative or for various other reasons. But it must be purely altruistic and not as a result of exchange of money."

Under the Human Organ Transplant Act, it is a criminal offence to enter into a contract or arrangement under which a person agrees to the sale or supply of any organ or blood for valuable consideration.

Those convicted can be jailed for up to 12 months, or fined S$10,000, or both.

In a statement, MOH said that it takes a serious view of such illegal acts.

It added that organ trading often involves the exploitation of the poor and socially disadvantaged donors who are unable to make an informed choice and suffer potential medical risks.

Organ trading is largely prohibited around the world. - CNA/vm

Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stori...356849/1/.html

JayDee · 28-06-2008, 07:05 PM

SINGAPORE: In the first case of its kind, two Indonesian men have been convicted of organ trading. 26—year—old Sulaiman Damanik and 27—year—old Toni, both Indonesians, are due to be sentenced next week.

Both men also pleaded guilty in a Subordinate Court on Friday to making false declarations to a hospital transplant ethics committee.

The court heard that Sulaiman Damanik had agreed to donate his kidney for 150 million rupiah or about S$23,700 in an arrangement made with several people earlier this month.

He had lied that there were no financial gains involved in the living donor transplant and that he was related to Tang Wee Sung, the intended recipient named in court documents.

Channel NewsAsia is unable to confirm at this point if Mr Tang is CK Tang’s 56—year—old executive chairman, who is known to be suffering from kidney disease.

Sulaiman said that his aunt was married to the brother—in—law of Mr Tang’s niece. But Sulaiman was found out before the transplant could be carried out.

The transplant operation involving Toni went ahead with his kidney going to a woman named Juliana Soh.

Toni, who admitted to acting as a middleman between Sulaiman and Mr Tang, received 186 million rupiah or about S$29,390 for his kidney. The operation took place in March.

Both men will be sentenced next week.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) said that a number of Singaporeans are assisting with the investigation.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a community event, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said his ministry will take action against anyone engaging in illegal human organ transactions.

He said he understands that some patients may be desperate because it’s a life and death situation. But, still, he stressed they should never break the law.

Mr Khaw said: "It is wrong to do so. But of course there are people who are desperate and they may push the boundary. So I think we have to be alert and each time we hear of such an allegation, we have to investigate and if people break the law, then they have to face the law."

He added that if Singapore wants to be a regional hub for organ transplantation, it not only needs high clinical standards but also ethical standards.

Mr Khaw said the ethics committee in hospitals was set up to thoroughly interview and counsel patients as well as donors to ensure proper consent. Otherwise, cases of exploitation will occur.

He added: "It’s either your relative who wants to donate (their organ) to give to their relative or for various other reasons. But it must be purely altruistic and not as a result of exchange of money."

Under the Human Organ Transplant Act, it is a criminal offence to enter into a contract or arrangement under which a person agrees to the sale or supply of any organ or blood for valuable consideration.

Those convicted can be jailed for up to 12 months, or fined S$10,000, or both.

In a statement, MOH said that it takes a serious view of such illegal acts.

It added that organ trading often involves the exploitation of the poor and socially disadvantaged donors who are unable to make an informed choice and suffer potential medical risks.

Organ trading is largely prohibited around the world. — CNA/vm

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/cna/2008062...9-231650b.html

**yoongkheong** · 28-06-2008, 07:52 PM

Well well, first the Home Affairs Minister got into trouble with MSK escape and the passport saga, then we have Defence Minister looking into the 2 deaths, after which the Law Minister handling the prison break at the court, and now we have the Health Minister coming to the media for this...

**Voodoo Vince** · 29-06-2008, 05:00 PM

Mr CK Tang family is also involved.

**Voodoo Vince** · 29-06-2008, 05:01 PM

Should sale of organs be allowed?
Doctors and MPs give their take on organ transactions
By Shuli Sudderuddin

Organ selling should be allowed in a properly controlled system, and in fact this is long overdue, Associate Professor Lee Wei Ling, director of the National Neuroscience Institute, said yesterday.

'People are dying of organ failure. And there are people who are healthy enough to donate their organs. It is ironical that the law at present punishes the very victims it is supposed to protect,' she said.

She made this call when asked for her views on the first-ever kidneys-for-sale case, which came up in court last Friday.

Dr Lee has been championing organ selling since last year when she wrote in to The Straits Times Forum page.

She said yesterday that in Singapore, it is possible to ensure the donor is healthy enough to donate his organ without adverse medical consequences, and there is fair remuneration. Checks can be made to ensure the donor does not carry any diseases that can be transmitted to the patient through the transplanted organ.

'In other countries, the donors are at a disadvantage without knowing it, and can get exploited. Singapore is the one place that can ensure that the donor is taken care of.

'We should be proud of it. There are existing rules and regulations that are outdated and irrelevant to the current situation in Singapore. We should set out to change them and do what is right.

'Every one of us has a duty as human beings to help others. People who may potentially be saved are dying, yet we still bury our heads in the sand and allow the suffering to go on? Of course, we should not break the law. But we should change the laws when they have become irrelevant. We should ensure that the person who is selling his organs is protected, and eliminate the middleman.'

She noted the existing market for organs mediated by a middleman.

'We should set up a proper, competent system to ensure the safety of the donor and that the donor receives a fair sum of the money in exchange for his organ.'

Echoing her sentiments was Dr Lee Keen Whye, a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at Gleneagles Medical Centre.

'As long as there is a willing buyer and seller, why not? If the seller does not feel exploited, who are we to judge? It's more important to save lives first,' he said.

Other doctors and MPs interviewed, however, disagreed. Dr Pwee Hock Swee, renal medicine specialist at Mount Elizabeth Hospital, felt that organ transactions should be purely altruistic.

Dr Lily Neo, an MP for Jalan Besar GRC, said that kidney transplants are 'a big life- and-death operation and people should not be induced to part with a part of themselves for a financial reward'.

Dr Fatimah Lateef, an MP for Marine Parade GRC, feels that it is more important to raise the number of donors available. A price tag should not be put on human organs.

Ms Halimah Yacob, head of the Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) for Health, was also not in favour of organ trading 'because the poor and the weak will be the ones who have to give up their organs and this will lead to them being intimidated and harassed'.

http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Sto...ry_252848.html

**Voodoo Vince** · 29-06-2008, 05:07 PM

Desperation drives patients to buy organs
About 600 here need transplant; average waiting time is nine years
By Teo Cheng Wee and Shuli Sudderuddin

For eight years, security guard Allan Wee waited, and waited.

He was diagnosed with kidney failure in 1997, but it was not until 2005 that he finally got a transplant.

As he endured kidney dialysis three times a week during those years, the bachelor thought about going overseas for a kidney transplant.

Eventually he resisted, on the advice of his doctor here. 'I asked him about it, but he said it may not be safe. He said it's better to get a kidney in Singapore,' said Mr Wee, 44.

One of his friends, who is in his 50s and also suffered from kidney failure, was not so patient. Less than a year ago, he spent $30,000 to go to China for a kidney transplant.

'He heard that dialysis was painful. He didn't want to go through it, so he went to China within half a year of his diagnosis,' Mr Wee recalled, adding that the friend is now in good health.

Indeed, facing a lengthy wait with no apparent end in sight, patients who suffer from kidney failure can be driven to desperation, doctors told The Sunday Times.

After all, there are about 600 people waiting for a kidney here, with an average waiting time of nine years.

Organ trading is banned here and in most countries worldwide, but the practice continues to take place.

Over the years, more than 300 Singaporeans have gone overseas for a transplant.

In the first case of its kind here, two Indonesian men pleaded guilty to offences linked to organ trading last Friday. They agreed to sell their kidneys for over $20,000 each to patients here - one of whom was cited in court documents as Mr Tang Wee Sung, executive chairman of retail company CK Tang.

Professor A. Vathsala, director of the adult renal transplantation programme at the National University Hospital, estimated that 20 to 40 patients with kidney failure here go overseas for a transplant every year. But it is far rarer for a Singaporean to get a donor from overseas to perform a transplant here, she said.

It is not just patients who are fuelling the organ trade though - sellers also want to trade their organs for a quick buck.

A Sunday Times check on organ sellers online turned up at least five websites. One 34-year-old Indonesian woman wanted US$25,000 (S$34,000) for her kidney.

They have even turned to doctors to peddle their organs.

Dr Pary Sivaraman, a renal specialist at Mount Elizabeth Hospital, receives three to five e-mail messages every few weeks from people looking to sell their kidneys, mostly from India and Indonesia.

He said there are usually two kinds of e-mail. The first kind, which is more common, involves someone selling himself as a healthy, young, willing seller who has done all the necessary medical check-ups.

The second goes for a more sympathetic tone - perhaps saying his family is suffering and he needs the money.

Internationally, Prof Vathsala has heard stories of people getting 'married' so that they can get a kidney for transplant - then promptly filing for divorce after that.

She also cited examples of whole villages overseas being victims of organ trafficking. Most of these sellers are desperate, poor and illiterate, and looking for a quick way out of poverty.

Dr Sivaraman added that although organ trading was wrong, one 'should not moralise about the patients'.

'A lot of people take drastic measures only because they're in drastic situations. Only the caregiver and patient can understand what they're going through,' he said.

Other doctors agree it is hard to punish these patients, even if they had a transplant overseas.

'Sometimes, patients need medical attention back home after receiving a kidney from abroad,' said Dr Pwee Hock Swee, a renal specialist from Mount Elizabeth Hospital.

'The last thing to do is to prosecute them.'

http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Sto...ry_252846.html

**fangzi** · 29-06-2008, 10:37 PM

if he was the one who is suffering, wil he breach the law?

**GeneKoh** · 30-06-2008, 01:35 AM

	Quote:			Originally Posted by Voodoo Vince
	Organ selling should be allowed in a properly controlled system, and in fact this is long overdue, Associate Professor Lee Wei Ling, director of the National Neuroscience Institute, said yesterday.

OMG... I'm now very worried... Especially when a comment like that comes from the daughter of one of Singapore's more prominent founding fathers...

**komirad** · 30-06-2008, 01:44 AM

	Quote:			Originally Posted by Voodoo Vince
	'As long as there is a willing buyer and seller, why not? If the seller does not feel exploited, who are we to judge? It's more important to save lives first,' he said. http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Sto...ry_252848.html

Yes, as long as both parties agree, fully understand the consequences if any and no one is forced, then why not?
Both get what they want and both of their lives would probably improve.

**princessLUCK** · 30-06-2008, 01:53 AM

thanks 4 sharing.. didn't expect Mr CK Tang to be involved in such issue too...