Beauty centre doctor on trial for manslaughter left heavily sedated liposuction patient in care of untrained assistants, Hong Kong court hears
- After Josephine Lee, 32, was heavily sedated for an operation, Dr Vanessa Kwan left her in the care of four untrained employees, prosecutor claims
- They monitored her condition by her snoring and Kwan’s breach of care was a substantial cause of death, court hears
A Hong Kong doctor on trial for manslaughter over a fatal liposuction treatment at a beauty centre seven years ago had heavily sedated the patient and left her in the care of four untrained assistants who monitored her condition by her snoring, a court has heard.
“She was put under a combination of drugs,” prosecutor Juliana Chow Hoi-ling said in opening the case to a seven-member jury on Monday. “She never woke up from the operation.”
Dr Vanessa Kwan Hau-chi, 38, has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter, punishable by life in prison, over the death of Josephine Lee Kar-ying, 32, at Regrowth Hair Transplant Centre in Kincheng Commercial Centre at Carnarvon Road in Tsim Sha Tsui on June 26, 2014.
The High Court heard Lee was a dance instructor who weighed 113.5kg (250lbs) before receiving treatment at the centre, which had eight therapists or laser operators, three medical practitioners, including Kwan, but no registered nurse or anaesthetists.
Lee received her first liposuction, targeting her abdomen, on April 20 of the same year, and on June 26, she returned for a second treatment to remove back fat.