Miri parents appeal for RM95,000 to help 22-month-old daughter hear
MIRI (July 29): The parents of 22-month-old Yvonne Paw are urgently appealing to the public to help raise RM95,000 for an auditory brainstem implant (ABI) operation scheduled for Aug 16, 2025 — a life-changing surgery that could allow her to hear for the first time.
CT scans at Miri Hospital revealed that Yvonne was born without cochleae in both ears, rendering her profoundly deaf since birth. The operation will be conducted at Borneo Medical Centre (BMC) Kuching, and her family is racing against time to secure the funds needed.
She was diagnosed with hearing problems shortly after birth, and her mother Wong Siew Chin and father Paw Keh Chuong are now desperate, placing their hopes in the public's generosity to give their daughter the gift of sound.
Piasau assemblyman Datuk Sebastian Ting Chiew Yew said the ABI procedure differs from the more common cochlear implant, as it is meant for patients with absent or damaged cochleae.
The estimated cost for Yvonne's operation is RM145,000, of which RM50,000 has already been raised.
'The family has managed to raise RM50,000, but it is still short of RM95,000 with 18 days left to this operation,' he said during a press conference at the Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) Piasau office on Tuesday.
Ting, who is also the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts, as well as SUPP Piasau branch chairman and party secretary-general, urged the public to donate through the Miri City Cochlear Implant Society (MCCIS).
'There are only 18 days left as the operation is scheduled to be carried out on Aug 16 this year,' he said.
As MCCIS chairman, Ting expressed appreciation to Miri residents for their past generosity, citing the case of Rhea Moh Ning Xuan, a girl who partially regained her hearing after undergoing a successful cochlear implant procedure last year.
Ting said Rhea, now one and a half-years-old, underwent surgery on Dec 22, 2024, when she was about one-year-old.
Rhea, a previous recipient of a cochlear implant procedure, lies on the shoulder of Ting, who helped kick off the fundraising campaign for her successful operation last year.
Her operation was made possible thanks to overwhelming public response to her parents' appeal.
Rhea's parents, Moh Nien Chong and Janet Teng, attended Tuesday's press conference in support of the fundraising drive for Yvonne.
According to Dr Doris Jong, Rhea is responding well to sounds, especially the 'Happy Birthday' song, and her hearing has improved from profound to moderate loss. She is also beginning to make sounds of her own.
Ting made a heartfelt appeal to the public to help Yvonne receive her implant before she turns two, which is a critical milestone for speech and auditory development.
'To those rooting for Yvonne to also hear and eventually learn, please donate to the operation for best results before she reaches the age of two,' he said.
All donations will go to a dedicated account for Yvonne's operation.
Those interested can contact the SAHATI Service & Information Centre, or donate directly to the Alliance Bank account of the Miri City Cochlear Implant Society: 110270010015028. hearing implants public donations Sebastian Ting surgery
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Malay Mail
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In this medical negligence case, Sessions Court judge Saifullah Bhatti ordered a doctor who did not have the licence, a Petaling Jaya beauty clinic found to be unlicensed, and the beauty clinic's owner, to pay RM800,000 in exemplary damages to a woman over the injection of fillers into her breasts. In this case, the woman — identified only as R for privacy purposes — had experienced pain and swelling after the breast filler injections in 2020. This resulted in her later visiting multiple other doctors, undergoing two MRI scans, and undergoing three surgeries in 2021 and 2024 to remove the fillers, as well as other treatments. With the Sessions Court able to handle cases involving a maximum RM1 million amount, judge Saifullah yesterday said the compensation amount of RM800,000 would send a strong message to doctors in Malaysia to get their qualifications and only do medical procedures that are covered by their licences. The Sessions Court noted that exemplary damages are meant to raise awareness to the public on the issues in a case, and to make an example out of those being sued and to deter them from repeating the same actions they were sued for. The Sessions Court noted that the High Court had in another case in November 2024 awarded RM100,000 in exemplary damages to deter 'beauty clinics which have mushroomed nationwide offering beauty aesthetics surgeries' from performing procedures that are not covered in their licences. The Sessions Court said there is increasingly alarming news of more and more doctors being caught for performing procedures without licence: 'In many cases around the world and not just in Malaysia, patients are sometimes left to die bleeding on the operating table.' 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In arriving at the RM800,000 figure, the judge had noted the facts where the doctor did not have an LCP; and that the doctor had failed the examination for the LCP but her 'niat tertunda' or her intention to resit for the examination was postponed because of the movement control orders during the Covid-19 pandemic. The judge also noted that the doctor had taken her lack of the LCP more lightly than she should have as she tried to cite other inapplicable course certificates to insist she was qualified; and that the doctor had misrepresented to R that she would be injected with 100 per cent pure hyaluronic acid fillers but instead injected her with a filler which was lab-tested to be 'primarily composed of silicone'. The judge said the doctor had gone on to perform a drainage procedure on R without an LCP; and that the aesthetic centre and its owner had allowed the doctor to carry out those two procedures on R without an LCP; and that there was no proof that the aesthetic centre and its owner had Health Ministry-required licence to carry out the business. Ultimately, the Sessions Court awarded the woman R with compensation totalling RM919,009.60 in the form of RM800,000 exemplary damages, RM85,000 in general damages for her pain and suffering; and RM34,009.60 in special damages; and also awarded RM25,000 in costs to her. What R's lawsuit was about and what the court decided In her lawsuit filed in April 2023 at the Sessions Court in Kuala Lumpur, the patient R had sued Dr S, the aesthetic centre's owner SHA, and the aesthetic centre's company F to claim for compensation. R's lawsuit claimed that Dr S was negligent by carrying out an aesthetic medical procedure without proper accreditation or licensing and failing to comply with the accepted standard of care by injecting the wrong filler into R's breasts. R claimed that the other two sued were negligent by appointing an unlicensed medical practitioner to perform the procedure and for failing to meet the appropriate standard of care that was expected of them as a medical facility. The Sessions Court found Dr S to be negligent as she performed the procedure on R without the LCP accreditation, also noting that Dr S had failed to disclose to R that she was not legally qualified to perform the procedure. Dr S was also found liable, as R would not have suffered the injuries if she had not used a filler that was later found to be primarily composed of silicone. While Dr S claimed that R had accepted the risks by signing a consent form before the breast filler procedure, the Sessions Court said the patient could not have consented to what had happened to her as she had consented to a pure HA injection instead of a mainly-silicone injection. 'When a doctor performs a procedure without disclosing the fact they are not qualified (such as what happened in this case), any consent obtained under that present is invalid,' the judge said, having noted that a previous High Court decision had found that such failure would undermine a patient's ability to make informed decisions about their treatment. The Sessions Court also found SHA and F to be negligent, noting that the beauty clinic's claimed Petaling Jaya City Council licence was irrelevant as it would only be a local authority's permit to run a healthcare business and is not a valid Health Ministry-required permit to perform medical aesthetics procedures. The Sessions Court said the man SHA is just as liable as Dr S as they were business partners; and the beauty clinic's company F is a healthcare facility which had not shown any accreditation or licensing required under the Private Healthcare Facilities And Services Act 1998 and that it was not qualified to 'play host to what was essentially an unlicensed and therefore illegal business'. R was represented by lawyers Dayang Roziekah Ussin, Abu Daud Abd Rahim and Nik Amalia Suraya Nik Muhammad; while the three sued were represented by lawyer Fakhrul Azman Abu Hasan.
Borneo Post
a day ago
- Borneo Post
Miri parents appeal for RM95,000 to help 22-month-old daughter hear
Yvonne in the arms of her father Keh Chuan (fifth left), mother (sixth left) as well as Ting (seventh left) and Rhea at the press conference to raise funds for Yvonne's operation. MIRI (July 29): The parents of 22-month-old Yvonne Paw are urgently appealing to the public to help raise RM95,000 for an auditory brainstem implant (ABI) operation scheduled for Aug 16, 2025 — a life-changing surgery that could allow her to hear for the first time. CT scans at Miri Hospital revealed that Yvonne was born without cochleae in both ears, rendering her profoundly deaf since birth. The operation will be conducted at Borneo Medical Centre (BMC) Kuching, and her family is racing against time to secure the funds needed. She was diagnosed with hearing problems shortly after birth, and her mother Wong Siew Chin and father Paw Keh Chuong are now desperate, placing their hopes in the public's generosity to give their daughter the gift of sound. Piasau assemblyman Datuk Sebastian Ting Chiew Yew said the ABI procedure differs from the more common cochlear implant, as it is meant for patients with absent or damaged cochleae. The estimated cost for Yvonne's operation is RM145,000, of which RM50,000 has already been raised. 'The family has managed to raise RM50,000, but it is still short of RM95,000 with 18 days left to this operation,' he said during a press conference at the Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) Piasau office on Tuesday. Ting, who is also the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts, as well as SUPP Piasau branch chairman and party secretary-general, urged the public to donate through the Miri City Cochlear Implant Society (MCCIS). 'There are only 18 days left as the operation is scheduled to be carried out on Aug 16 this year,' he said. As MCCIS chairman, Ting expressed appreciation to Miri residents for their past generosity, citing the case of Rhea Moh Ning Xuan, a girl who partially regained her hearing after undergoing a successful cochlear implant procedure last year. Ting said Rhea, now one and a half-years-old, underwent surgery on Dec 22, 2024, when she was about one-year-old. Rhea, a previous recipient of a cochlear implant procedure, lies on the shoulder of Ting, who helped kick off the fundraising campaign for her successful operation last year. Her operation was made possible thanks to overwhelming public response to her parents' appeal. Rhea's parents, Moh Nien Chong and Janet Teng, attended Tuesday's press conference in support of the fundraising drive for Yvonne. According to Dr Doris Jong, Rhea is responding well to sounds, especially the 'Happy Birthday' song, and her hearing has improved from profound to moderate loss. She is also beginning to make sounds of her own. Ting made a heartfelt appeal to the public to help Yvonne receive her implant before she turns two, which is a critical milestone for speech and auditory development. 'To those rooting for Yvonne to also hear and eventually learn, please donate to the operation for best results before she reaches the age of two,' he said. All donations will go to a dedicated account for Yvonne's operation. Those interested can contact the SAHATI Service & Information Centre, or donate directly to the Alliance Bank account of the Miri City Cochlear Implant Society: 110270010015028. hearing implants public donations Sebastian Ting surgery
