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SCMP Reporter

A nail beautician left depressed after a car accident that robbed her of her sense of being beautiful and healthy was awarded $5.4 million in damages yesterday.

Amy Lawrence Lee Yuen-ngan, 33, claimed to be an appearance-conscious woman who had been proud of her body, medical reports tendered to the Court of First Instance said. But an 11cm scar on her abdomen left her depressed and believing her beauty could not be regained.

The scar was the result of surgery to remove her spleen after it was ruptured in a car crash on March 25, 1998. Ms Lee was a passenger in a car driven by a friend, Lau Wing-hop, when it hit a minibus in Wan Chai.

Before the accident, Ms Lee's 'wardrobe was full of garments that boldly showed off her body, and she used to wear bikinis at beaches', the court heard during the suit brought against Mr Lau.

Ms Lee saw overseas cosmetic surgeons with a view to removing the scar or diminishing it. Surgery in August last year improved it slightly but the scar was permanent, Mr Justice Azizul Suffiad said in his written judgment.

Ms Lee had claimed $13.7 million in damages for lost earnings, medical expenses and psychological trauma.

In ruling that her complaints and disabilities were genuine, Mr Justice Suffiad said the key to her severe depression was a sense of loss. Ms Lee believed her beauty, health and perfection could not be regained.

The incident - for which Mr Lau admitted full liability - also left Ms Lee with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Trained as a nail beautician in the United States, she became the first Asian judge at the Professional Beauty Nail Competition in London in 1997.

The crash effectively robbed her of the ability to run her business, Amy's Nail Boutique - Hong Kong's first nail beauty salon. She lost all but about 18 of 600 clients and was forced to cut the number of overseas trips she once took to buy beauty products for the business. She also stopped giving demonstrations to potential buyers or media interviews.

Ms Lee was awarded $5.4 million damages for pain, suffering, loss of amenity and earnings and the cost of psychiatric treatment.



Nail beautician scarred in car crash awarded $5.4m damages