Man seeks $5,000 for wife’s death in hospital

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

Tuesday, 15 December 2009 15:03 Mom Kunthear and Chrann Chamroeun

A MAN who blames staff at a prominent hospital for the death of his wife is demanding US$5,000 in compensation, while an ongoing court investigation appears to have stalled.

Ly Kok Meng said he is asking for $5,000 from doctors at the Cambodian-Russian Friendship Hospital, accusing medical workers of carelessness in the November death of his wife during childbirth.

“I don’t know if they will agree to pay what I have demanded, but the prosecutor told me that it is a suitable cost,” Ly Kok Meng said.

The man’s demand comes after court officials urged Ly Kok Meng to reach an out-of-court settlement in the dispute. He had previously told the Post he preferred seeking legal action to civil compensation.

No decision from court

Prosecutors last week questioned a representative for some of the hospital’s medical staff, but officials said Monday they had not decided whether to lay charges or drop the case outright.

“We haven’t yet finished [investigating] the case,” said Phnom Penh Municipal Court Prosecutor Sok Roeun, adding that the court is still waiting to examine hospital documents.

Ly Kok Meng’s wife, Ban Rany, died during childbirth at the hospital after she was injected with a serum. Hospital staff said Ban Rany suffered an allergic reaction to the serum, and Ly Kok Meng said that medical staff were negligent.

Dr Say Sengly, the hospital’s director, declined to comment Monday. But he previously said that Ly Kok Meng’s claims were baseless.