Tomboy’s boob removal goes awry
By ZALINAH NOORDIN
Believing that having her breasts removed could fulfil her lifelong wish of becoming a "man", a 36-year-old businesswoman ended up losing her nipples too.
The woman who wished to be known as Sam developed a bad infection which left her with a major scar after the botched cosmetic surgery at a beauty salon. On top of that, she ended up RM24,000 poorer.
Tired of being teased by her colleagues and friends, Sam had gone to a beauty salon in Subang in May to get the surgery done.
She also revealed that she had always felt like a man as she grew up with two elder brothers and wanted to be like them.
Sam (left) with MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Michael Chong at the press conference at Wisma MCA on Thursday.
"I was told that the surgery would cost RM12,000 with an additional RM3,500 to beautify my body," she said after seeking help at the MCA Public Services and Complaints Department in Kuala Lumpur yesterday,
Sam paid up and was told to go to a clinic in Johor where surgery was done since the centre in Subang only did beauty treatment. She was promised that a specialist surgeon from China would do the job.
"However, when I spoke to the ‘surgeon’, I found out he was a local and seemed unsure of what I was in for," said Sam.
Despite her nagging doubts, Sam still ahead with the procedure and it was all done in a few hours.
"I was discharged on the same day of the surgery and did not suspect anything amiss as my chest was wrapped in a bandage," she said.
A constant searing pain proved too much for her to bear and Sam was horrified to find both her nipples missing after she removed the bandage a week later. She also found that the wounds were infected as the area was swollen and pus was flowing out.
After the operation, she was not given any antibiotics or pills to take.
Thinking that it was a temporary condition, Sam went to seek medical treatment in Singapore. The infection cleared up but she still felt some pain.
Sam claimed that she later called up the beautician and demanded a refund including her medical fees and the beautician had initially agreed to it.
However, the salon operator changed her mind about giving a refund and challenged Sam to bring the case to court.
A police report was lodged at the Subang Jaya Police Station as Sam claimed that she was also constantly harassed and threatened by the salon operator and her partner.
MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Michael Chong said that he would assist Sam in her legal suits against the beautician and advised people to check the credentials of beauticians and so-called plastic surgeons.
Published Nov 19, 2009
Comments (14)
Please do not discriminate against people who have different preference whether or not it has to do with their sexuality, etc.. At least they have the guts to come out of the closet and be who they are. And they are not stupid, it's about taking one step at a time. Gradually changing their looks will help them through psychologically and emotionally. I guess you're the one who's intellectually incompetent. Don't hate. It's people like you that spreads hatred and discrimination in the world. Reality check.
P/S: Check your English!
You want surgery done, you go to a surgeon! not a saloon , another case gone horribly wrong.
MCA has been bz with helpin out idiots , when they cud b doin other things.
First we had the burning towel incident.
I really dont want to say this but , with so many chinese people involved in commercial sector, its hard to distinguish between professional and unqualified people.
In another almost related matter ,
I was in Low yatt Plaza once, wanted to get a hardrive for my laptop, ( i took out the laptop hardrive) ... And the sales asst turned on the laptop, obviously it wrote there on the screen " no operating system found " , He looked at me like i was the idiot, i told him the obvious, He consulted d taukeh , the taukeh scolded him in mandarin. Its an IT shop for god's sake.
Alot of chinese business owners employ 'mandarin-speaking' employees only, regardless of their qualification or knowledge.
Some dont even know what on earth their doin...
who the hell would even remotely think a BEAUTY SALON can potong2?
no wonder MCA's brains been going haywire lately.
Yes that saloon is bad but I don't think you wanna condemn the whole chinese community.
And our friend in umno is saying we are losing our identity for speaking too much english. =.=''
Finally kudos to "Sam" for having the courage to stand out and speak up. Not many people can do that.
It is hard to be a man though.
Obviously the concern is not limited to missing nipple. Lost of Money, Suffering, Embarrassment and etc.
Asking for compensation definitely not going to make anyone who goes through this situation happy. But why would anyone pay for this kind of damage? Plus the money she get back would be able help her to do whatever she needs to right now.
It is funny that when MCA help, people complaint. Don't help, also complaint. After all, the problem is with people who loves to criticize and complaint. Don't get me wrong, criticism and complaints that help to improve situation are good.
We cannot be criticizing the whole chinese community just because you have bad experiences with some chinese.
All I wish for Christmas is my two front tits...my two front tits...da di da..did daaa
no offense though, just trying to light up the mood here.
there are always some stupid ppl among us, nth to do with race at all..IQ is inherited, but im not sure whether common sense is..lower IQ ppl see common sense as rocket science? please tell me..