Saturday, February 24, 2007

Aftermath of Organ Robbery

My blog is most honoured to have been visited by a family member of Mr. Sim, whose organs were forcibly robbed from him by the government and its police force. This was what Mr. Sim's sibling wrote on my blog - I edited it for clarity:


"I am his sister. To be honest, (in answer to your question) we don't feel any better yet. In fact, the worst is right now - during the Chinese New Year. This is the worst, most horrible and terrible, and nightmarish Chinese New Year our family and relatives have ever had - especially for my mother.

No counsellor has been sent by SGH or MOH, since that night. In fact, it's the other way round - we tried to contact the counsellor ourselves. We left her messages but till to date, she has neither responded nor replied!

Even on the police's side - we feel that we have been treated like criminals by them. Yet the ironical truth is that they were the ones who had commited ("legal"?) robbery!

I wonder how long this nightmare - horrible and yet so real - is going to last. Or will it never end? Is this just the beginning (of our life-long torment)?"


My blog was linked by some reader in some online forum which discussed this topic. So probably that's how it eventually got to one of the family member. In any case, I believe this is the comment of a genuine visitor. You can read for yourself, her unedited comment on Fri Feb 23, 07:22:00 pm (plus a few others before that)

In her own words, she was hoping that "maybe (I) can help" her write the truth. This is a family belonging to the lower strata of our elitist society. Its voice has been drowned out by the disproportionately much more vocal English-speaking minority that dominates the ruling class, its legitimate rights curtailed by the uncaring elites, and its people marginalised by the elitist government.

It is desperate for a voice to hear its side of the story, but to whom can it go? The main-stream media spun lies against them. The counsellor couldn't even be bothered to respond to their cry for help. And the supposedly independent internet is in reality, only open to those who can express themselves in reasonably-fluent English -- a foreign language actually, if you think about it objectively, for the larger part of our society.

I hope every of my reader will help publicise the voice of this family - you can quote what she wrote, on online forums that you visit, or on your blog. You can offer condolonces by leaving a comment -- if the counsellor refuses to do her job, let's us do our little bits on her behalf, even though we are no professionals in counselling.

It's not just standing up for others. We are doing it for our own karma too. Remember what Martin Niemoller said!

What happened is a disgrace. And what occurred in the aftermath (newspaper's lies, counsellor's attitude) is nothing short of shame!

Labels:

11 Comments:

At Monday, February 26, 2007, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I sent the opt-out form on the very day I read about this news

http://www.moh.gov.sg/corp/systems/organ/hota/forms.do

My heartfelt condolences to the family...

 
At Monday, February 26, 2007, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm opting-out too. I agree with HOTA's intent but I abhore its processes as highlighted by the Sim family's predictament. Btw, I'm exiting the matrix eventually, and ironically I will most likely opt-in for my new homeland's HOTA equivalent.

Reading the other side of the story from the horse's mouth, the amount of cover-up done by the english MSM is a disgusting disgrace and definitely a dis-service to the society. Its cover-up let the relevant authorities hide behind lies instead of offering straight forward apologises and working to improve future handling of such cases. Prior to this "direct report" on The Human Battery's blog, I thought that the police and hospital staff actually did tried to do their jobs professionally and followed-up with helping the Sim family. Now it seems that in so many years of HOTA being in effect, the police and hospital have yet to master the empathy and sensitivity required of their jobs.

My condolences to the Sim family and any other previous HOTA donor families whose struggles/abuses we never heard about.

 
At Tuesday, February 27, 2007, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anon poster above: don't be deceived by the 'kind intentions' of the HOTA. The road to hell is indeed paved with good intentions.

As I said in another post here, organs seized by HOTA will not go to poor needy patients queueing for transplants - they go instead to rich people. Of course, who pockets the profits from the transactions is anybody's guess.

Do a voluntary organ pledge instead.

 
At Tuesday, February 27, 2007, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am Anonymous at Mon Feb 26, 07:29:00 PM...

To Anonymous at Tue Feb 27, 04:50:00 PM:

Yes, like you, I am also concerned about the lack of info on where the organs from HOTA go. This lack of transparency facilitates a lack of accountability to the public. Both factors that remind one of the NKF-Durai saga. IMHO, these factors seem common in many govt and govt-linked organizations here as Singapore does not have an equivalent of the USA "Freedom of Information Act". There can be creative ways to release info about HOTA receipients to the public while still respecting the prviacy of individual receipients.

Btw, thanks for your suggestion about the voluntary organ pledge. Doubt I'll do it, I opt-out of Sg's HOTA as an interim solution since I will be moving out of the matrix permanently.

 
At Wednesday, February 28, 2007, Anonymous Anonymous said...

More anguish from within after knowing the whole affairs, with the police and the fucking Khaw putting that comment. I am no fool to know what is actually happening now. By next week, our entire family clans total 57 members would opt out.
My sympathy to the victim.
Fuck the government.

 
At Thursday, March 01, 2007, Anonymous Anonymous said...

now the 1 million dollar question.

If I opt out the HOTA. Will my future (career,health), family member be marked if they happened need a transplant ? (touch wood)

 
At Friday, March 02, 2007, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Another thing is that after u hv opt out Now...

The next step is that thy will amend the HOTA to a YEARLY opt Out system WITHOUT Any reminder if it cm to the expire date...

Or Worst is tat Service Will b Charge 4 any Reminder...!?!

 
At Saturday, March 03, 2007, Anonymous Anonymous said...

When that erroneous HOTA was mooted, public feedback was collected. I bet you will find in these MOH Feedback Records that there would be a number of people writing to oppose the bill and the freely discretionary powers given under the bills, and arguing such an incident of carelessness (to the extent of legally-correct malpractice) that fall on Mr Sim would have a natural propensity to happen under present system of rule in Singapore!

Yet the HOTA bill was passed with hardly, I bet, any considerations for checks and balances in their implementation against malpractice and arrogance of authority. The Bill had been surely and swiftly passed in such ruling expediency:-
(i)to score points only for the executives,
(ii)to present situations easier for the power-to-be to cater their own needs of mortality and
(iii)present favorable economics measures to promote health/medical by either reducing state health costs and etc.

Any unfavorable consequences or legally-correct abuses would just have to be borned by the commoner and innocent. Faith has no place in the ways of the system of rule here!

 
At Monday, March 05, 2007, Anonymous Anonymous said...

throw the f***ing uncaring elites out! too many s'poreans had suffered enough. stop buying their news papers.don't get con by their propaganda!

 
At Wednesday, March 07, 2007, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dear bloggers,

Can anyone send me the link to the article on Lianhe Zaobao. I want to forward the article to Taiwan/China media, to inform that about the HOTA law in singapore. Thank you.

 
At Wednesday, March 07, 2007, Blogger The Human Battery said...

If you are talking about the link to Zaobao's website, it's too late liow. Zaobao deletes articles from its website after 7 days. However, if you want a copy of the article, I have archived it on my blog here :)

 

Post a Comment

<< Home