sooo sad.. wonder howcum like tat so weird...
July 28, 2005
Mystery death: It started with fever
By Tanya Fong and Tracy Sua
A WOMAN'S entire body turned black, her skin peeled off blood oozed from her ears before she died. Her days of agony began with a simple fever.
POLICE PROBE: A man is helping police with the investigation after a message was left scrawled on the door of the clinic. -- STEPHANIE YEOW
The family of Mrs June Wong, 26, could only watch helplessly as she lay naked on a hospital bed, dying from a suspected drug allergy that caused her to burn internally.
Now, reeling from shock and disbelief, they are demanding answers and the police are investigating the case which has been classified as unnatural death.
The tragedy began when Mrs Wong, a sales executive, visited a doctor on July 7 for her fever.
'She was given medication for it,' said her father, who wanted to be known only as Mr Ng, 60, a retiree.
'But after a few days, she complained of aches and was given painkillers. That made things worse because her arm broke out in a rash.'
The mother of a three-year-old daughter and six-month-old son also developed gastric pain.
By then, she had already been to the clinic near her flat in Admiralty Link three times and was too weak to go downstairs to see the doctor again.
Said her father: 'She called him, and he prescribed more medicine which my wife collected.'
In all, she was prescribed about six types of drugs for her symptoms.
But she did not improve, and on July 12, she was rushed to Tan Tock Seng Hospital as her fever and rash were worsening.
'We thought she had dengue fever, but less than a day after she was admitted to hospital, her skin on her inner arm started to peel,' recounted her father.
'Her skin turned black from head to toe. Doctors told us she was suffering from skin burn caused by a drug allergy.'
Mrs Wong is suspected of having Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, a severe inflammation of the skin and mucous membranes, which can be caused by an allergic reaction to drugs.
On July 14, she had difficulty breathing and was taken to the Intensive Care Unit and put on painkillers.
Her husband, Mr Jason Wong, 27, a sales executive, and family and friends watched as her condition deteriorated.
'She was writhing in pain, and couldn't talk because of oxygen tubes in her mouth,' said her brother, sales executive Alex Ng, 28.
'We could only talk to her, and urge her to stay alive for her two young children.'
For more than a week, her family kept vigil at her bedside.
Said her good friend, Miss Peggy Ng, 24, sobbing: 'She must have hurt very badly. Last Thursday, when we were not around, she pulled out her breathing tubes and injured her windpipe.'
Mrs Wong died at about 12.45pm five days later.
Said her brother Alex, still in shock and disbelief: 'We want answers. How could something like that happen? We just celebrated her birthday, and now she's gone.'
Mrs Wong turned 26 10 days before she fell ill. She spent it with her family at a water theme park in Pasir Ris.
Said good friend Miss Rueuon Lee, 25: 'We didn't even get to say goodbye.'
At the clinic where Mrs Wong had sought treatment for her fever, a message was scrawled on the door.
Part of it said: 'Return June to me.'
A man is helping police with the investigations.
