Published: 09:29 EDT, September 19, 2023 | Updated: 1:15 p.m. EDT, September 19, 2023
A 22-year-old man whose penis was cut off in a botched circumcision at the age of ten has had his compensation award reduced from £500,000 to just £20,000 after the Malaysian government successfully appealed his claim.
The unnamed victim reportedly lost about 90 percent of his penis during the operation, which took place on December 13, 2010, at the local hospital in his hometown of Kuala Lipi, Malaysia.
The medics who reportedly severed his genitals were not qualified in microsurgery and it was decided to transfer the boy to Selayang Hospital where better qualified surgeons could attempt to repair the terrible botch.
However, the delay meant he did not undergo surgery until ten hours later, at which point any hope of reattaching his penis was lost.
He then remained in the hospital for over a month and endured a painful and desperate recovery process. He then filed a lawsuit against the government and hospital directors with the help of his mother.
On April 7, 2022, Judge Datuk Akhtar Tahir ruled in his favor and awarded him RM3.1 million (£532,409) in damages.
Judge Akhtar said in June last year: “The delay of the medical staff in treating the plaintiff’s injury had dashed all hopes of a successful operation to save the injured part of the plaintiff.”
“Selayang Hospital had been informed of the plaintiff’s transfer, but the medical staff did not take any steps to prepare for a possible operation.”
“It is clear that no amount of monetary damages awarded by the court can compensate for the loss suffered by the plaintiff.”
“All the shame and humiliation suffered by the plaintiff is a result of this terrible loss.”
“His mother had testified that the plaintiff had been in a shell since he was 10 years old and found it difficult to interact with others, let alone develop the courage to ever get married.”
The amount claimed by the plaintiff was over £500,000, including a litany of general, special and aggravated damages owed jointly by all defendants.
However, the payout was significantly reduced after the government filed an appeal, which the Putrajaya Court of Appeal accepted.
A three-judge panel ruled unanimously at a hearing earlier this month that the general damages of MYR2 million (GBP343,432) received by the plaintiff were excessive.
Justice Ravinthran Paramaguru, chairman of the panel, said the amount was not supported by any documentation.
Paramaguru was quoted as saying: “Therefore, the general damages are reduced from RM2 million to RM100,000 (£17,172).”
“The special damages are reduced to MYR23,556 (£4,045).”
Fake doctor Torben K, 46, was sentenced to five years in prison after carrying out a botched penis enlargement operation that killed his patient
The sharp reduction in the plaintiff’s damages came just weeks after a German man posing as a plastic surgeon was sentenced to five years in prison for performing a botched penis enlargement operation that killed his patient.
The fake doctor Torben K, 46, a catering employee from Solingen, Germany, had injected silicone oil into the patient’s manhood and scrotum as part of an alleged “girth enlargement”.
Judges at the Wuppertal Regional Court sentenced him to prison on August 28 after he was found guilty of grievous bodily harm.
The 32-year-old victim – who was not named in court – died of sepsis seven months after the agonizing operation in July 2019.
The court heard the fake doctor had no medical qualifications and was offering his penis enlargement services online.
