Hota - open letter by two doctors

Dr Patrick Kee Chin Wah and Dr Wong Wee Nam wrote an open letter in the ST Forum page appealing to the law makers to amend the provisions of Hota to take into considerations the strong objections of family members which they have foreseen long before the Sim Tee Hua incident. They had appeared in 1986 before a Select Committee to make provisions in case of strong objections but were rejected. And their worst fear that 'the medical profession seem cold and clinical where compassion was needed' is now in the MSM and in cyberspace. And they are making their appeal public this time for obvious reasons. This 'I have the right to decide what is good for you, including keeping or taking your money, and organs' is deeply carved into our mentality. This is done for the good of society and the individual. So this right becomes sacred and legal. It is acceptable to sacrifice the rights of individuals for the greater good. Are we going to wait for the day when a team of medical technicians will be the first to carry out a sample test of all the organs the moment a patient is admitted to the hospital? Would the harvesting of organs become a first priority in hospitals with no regard to the feelings of the living family members? How long would Singaporeans be willing to live with such a state of affair?