{"id":46272,"date":"2026-04-21T18:46:44","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T10:46:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=46272"},"modified":"2026-04-21T18:46:44","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T10:46:44","slug":"prosecution-calls-for-jail-for-doctor-over-patients-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=46272","title":{"rendered":"Prosecution calls for jail for doctor over patient\u2019s death"},"content":{"rendered":"


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SINGAPORE \u2013 The prosecution has called for between 1\u00bd and two years\u2019 jail for a doctor who performed\u00a0a negligent act that led to a patient\u2019s death<\/span><\/a> after an aesthetic treatment\u00a0in 2019.<\/p>\n

Court documents stated that Chan Bingyi, 37, intravenously administered ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) to property agent Lau Li Ting, 31, on March 8 that year,\u00a0when there was no need to do so.<\/p>\n

EDTA should be used only if there are specific indications of certain conditions, such as heavy metal poisoning or elevated calcium levels, and must be administered only by clinicians trained in its use, the court heard.<\/p>\n

Ms Lau, who had no underlying medical conditions, developed EDTA toxicity, which led to cardiac arrest, and she died in Singapore General Hospital (SGH) five days later.<\/p>\n

On April 21, Deputy Public Prosecutor Thaddeus Tan noted that Ms Lau was the one who had asked Chan to perform a \u201cchelation\u201d treatment, involving the use of EDTA to bind to metallic ions and extract them from the body.<\/p>\n

Stressing that Chan knew EDTA could cause complications, the DPP told the court that the doctor was \u201cnot a common vendor where the customer was always right\u201d.<\/p>\n

The prosecutor also said that Chan had shown a disregard for Ms Lau\u2019s safety.<\/p>\n

Defence lawyer Adrian Wee from Lighthouse Law, however, urged the court to sentence his client to between six and eight months\u2019 jail.<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cThis was not a case in which (Ms Lau) had been a complete novice who had been introduced to EDTA chelation therapy by Dr Chan. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere was evidence that (she) had undergone EDTA chelation therapy previously without incident… Dr Chan had himself performed over a hundred EDTA chelation therapies without incident.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Wee also said that Chan had acted without malice, and there was no evidence of any systemic disregard for patient safety.<\/p>\n

He added that the doctor had taken \u201cappropriate and diligent steps\u201d when he discovered that Ms Lau had a seizure.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis included attempts at resuscitation, calling for an ambulance, and attending at the hospital on multiple occasions,\u201d said Mr Wee.<\/p>\n

Chan will be sentenced on May 14.<\/p>\n

Following a trial, Senior District Judge Ong Hian Sun convicted Chan\u00a0in January<\/span><\/a>\u00a0of\u00a0committing a negligent act that led to Ms Lau\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

In earlier proceedings, the prosecution told the court that Chan had administered the \u201cdangerous substance\u201d\u00a0to her at \u201ctoo high a concentration and too quickly\u201d, at a clinic called Revival Medical & Aesthetics Centre in Bras Basah Road.<\/p>\n

Before the tragedy, Ms Lau went to the clinic at Esplanade Xchange shopping mall on March 8, 2019, for aesthetic reasons.<\/p>\n

According to Chan, Ms Lau wanted to reduce fine lines on her forehead. <\/p>\n

DPPs Tan and Jiang Ke Yue\u00a0stated in court documents that Chan, who attended to her, agreed to perform a \u201cchelation\u201d treatment, and EDTA was administered intravenously.<\/p>\n

They added: \u201cDisodium EDTA, which the accused used in this case, binds preferentially to calcium \u2013 a mechanism that makes it inherently dangerous. This is because ionic calcium plays a critical role in essential bodily functions, including neurotransmission and neuromuscular function.\u201d<\/p>\n

They also said that when EDTA depletes calcium levels, patients can suffer heart failure and impaired muscle function.<\/p>\n

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Ms Lau Li Ting\u2019s mother at the wake. Following a trial, Senior District Judge Ong Hian Sun convicted Chan\u00a0in January\u00a0of\u00a0committing a negligent act that led to Ms Lau\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO FILE<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Following the tragedy, Chan told the Ministry of Health (MOH) that he had agreed to provide the chelation treatment to her after a consultation that lasted about 15 minutes.<\/p>\n

He told the ministry that Ms Lau then went to a procedure room and sat on a treatment bed, where a staff member helped Chan set up drip lines for saline to be administered intravenously to Ms Lau.<\/p>\n

Chan said he left the room to draw 12.5cc of sodium bicarbonate and 12.5cc of \u201cdisodium ethyl-diamine-tetra-acetic\u201d acid in a syringe. <\/p>\n

He told MOH that he returned to the procedure room and \u201cslowly pumped in\u201d both substances into a bag of saline connected to Ms Lau.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cI was monitoring the drip rate and speed to time it for at least an hour\u2019s duration and, at the same time, monitoring side effects like burn sensation and nausea. Ms Lau was… talking about her plan for the day.<\/p>\n

\u201c(After) about five minutes of talking, Ms Lau suddenly stopped talking. I tried to speak to her, but there was no response. I checked on her and realised that she was having a seizure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chan told the ministry that he placed her in a \u201csafe position\u201d to make sure that she did not injure herself and allowed the seizure to \u201cself-abort\u201d.<\/p>\n

He said that her seizure stopped about a minute or two later, and he told his staff to bring in a resuscitation kit.<\/p>\n

He also said that he immediately switched off the drips when Ms Lau was having her seizure.<\/p>\n

The Singapore Civil Defence Force was alerted. Officers who went to the clinic found that Ms Lau was not breathing, with no detectable pulse, the court heard.<\/p>\n

The DPPs said she was in a critical condition when she arrived at SGH\u2019s Department of Emergency Medicine.<\/p>\n

They told the court that she died of EDTA toxicity on March 13, 2019.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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