Doctor charged with causing 31-year-old patient’s death due to negligence during aesthetic procedure

SINGAPORE — A 34-year-old medical doctor was charged on Tuesday (Oct 11) after his alleged negligence during an aesthetic procedure caused a female patient’s death in 2019.

Chan Bingyi allegedly administered ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) to 31-year-old Lau Li Ting intravenously when there was no need to do so, and at “too high a concentration and too quickly”, court documents stated.

This allegedly caused Lau to develop EDTA toxicity that led to her cardiac arrest and eventual death, the documents showed.

EDTA is sometimes prescribed by doctors to remove toxic metals, such as lead, from the patient's blood. It is commonly used in skincare and cosmetic products.

Court documents stated that the incident occurred around noon on March 8, 2019 at Revival Medical and Aesthetics Centre, which is located in the Esplanade Xchange mall.

Chinese daily Lianhe Wanbao previously reported that Lau was a property agent and that it was not the first time that she received an aesthetic treatment.

She died a few days after the treatment and her family made a police report.

Chan will return to court on Nov 7 and remains out on bail of S$5,000. The prosecution told the court that it intends to file more charges against him.

If convicted of causing death by a negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide, Chan can be jailed up to two years or fined, or both.

Public records from the Ministry of Health showed that he graduated from the National University of Singapore in 2012.

He became fully registered as a doctor in 2013, and his current practising certificate is valid until the end of this year.