Mr. Teo Boon Teck, Miss Dinh's husband-to-be, refuses to leave her side. (Photo by Hedy Khoo)
By Tay Shi’an | AsiaOne
SINGAPORE – She lies in a coma, oblivious to a three-way tussle over mounting hospital bills and her future.
Vietnamese bride Dinh Thi Thom was knocked down by a lorry less than 30 minutes before she was to be married to a Singaporean, on Christmas Eve last year.
She suffered a brain hemorrhage and has been in a coma ever since.
The tussle:
- Stay, which is what her husband-to-be wants.
- Stay, then go, because her family wants her to be better before they take her home to Vietnam.
- Go, because the hospital feels nothing more can be done for her.
The National University Hospital’s stand is that Miss Dinh, 21, no longer needs acute hospital care in Singapore and is fit to return to Vietnam for rehabilitation.
She has been warded at NUH for two months. The hospital has yet to receive any payment of her $73,000 medical bill so far.
But Miss Dinh’s parents want NUH to perform one more operation on her before taking her back to Vietnam.
The surgery, estimated to cost thousands of dollars, is to replace a portion of her skull back into her head.
The skull portion was removed in an earlier surgery after the accident and has since been stored in her abdomen.
But an NUH spokesman said: ‘The surgery will not change the medical condition that Miss Dinh is in as it is purely a cosmetic procedure.
‘As the hospital does not want to add to the financial burden of Miss Dinh’s family, we have advised her mother to focus on improving Miss Dinh’s condition before doing this surgery much later.’
However, her family feels the lorry driver’s insurer must pay for her treatment, including this operation.
The spokesman said the hospital’s clinical team has conducted a family conference with a translator to explain MissDinh’s condition and future care to her mother, Madam Nguyen Thi-Dum, 51, a farmer.
Asking for help
NUH doctors are also contacting a hospital in Vietnam to take care of Miss Dinh and its medical social worker is exploring possible financial avenues for their trip back.
The family had to borrow money to fly to Singapore. They arrived last Wednesday.
Miss Dinh’s relative, Madam Mac Thi Hai, 72, who accompanied Madam Nguyen to Singapore, said they are adamant about the second surgery, which they believe will make Miss Dinh better.
She said in Mandarin: ‘How can we go back with her like this? They should finish what they started.’
Meanwhile, Miss Dinh’s medical bill continues to mount.
Her stay in the Class C ward costs $165.85 each day. That’s more than $1,100 a week, excluding medication and other procedures.
Miss Dinh’s mother has sought help from the Vietnamese Embassy.
Mr Bui Tan Long, the embassy’s first secretary, said they have put Madam Nguyen in touch with a local lawyer to explore their options.
Madam Mac said: ‘We are leaving it to the lawyers to contact the insurance company and the hospital. It’s out of our hands now.’
Meanwhile, Miss Dinh’s husband-to-be, Mr Teo Boon Teck, 30, a newspaper vendor, is sticking to his stand that she remain in his care.
He said that if Miss Dinh’s parents insist on taking her back to Vietnam, that’s as good as declaring their relationship null and void.
In that case, he wants them to pay the $73,000 hospital bill, plus $30,000 compensation for what he spent on her in the four months she has been in Singapore.
He said: ‘If, after the operation, she signs the marriage certificate, then I’ll let them take her back to Vietnam.
‘If she wants to go back, but we are not married, then I want them to return the money.’
No legal basis
However, it is unlikely that he has any legal basis to make such a claim.
Mr Teo had previously claimed that if Miss Dinh’s parents are willing to leave her here with him, he is willing to sell his flat to pay for the medical bills.
NUH’s stand is that Miss Dinh’s mother, as her next-of-kin, will be making medical decisions on her behalf. And her ‘immediate family’ is liable for her bills.
Mr Long said the Vietnamese Embassy was thankful to NUH doctors for saving Miss Dinh’s life.
He also appealed to Singaporeans for financial help.
He said: ‘Please ask your readers if they can help her. They can send (the money) directly to the hospital. In Vietnam, we often do that. As you know, her family is very poor.
‘We hope that after the article, someone with money will help her case.’
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