TANG RECEIVES DEATH ROW KIDNEY; HOTA CHANGES ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SINGAPORE 000058


E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/16/2019
TAGS: TBIO SOCI ECON SN
SUBJECT: TANG RECEIVES DEATH ROW KIDNEY; HOTA CHANGES ON
TRACK

REF: A. 08 SINGAPORE 978

B. SINGAPORE 18

Classified By: DCM Daniel L. Shields for reasons 1.4 (B) and (D)


1. (SBU) Retail magnate TANG Wee Sung's quest for a kidney
came to a bizarre conclusion January 9 when he received a
kidney, apparently from hanged triad gang leader TAN Chor
Jin. Tang's health problems became a front-page staple after
he was fined and spent a day in jail last summer for trying
to buy a kidney from a poor Indonesian man (ref A),Tan,
also known as the "One-Eyed Dragon," was himself an object of
media fascination for his spectacular (by Singapore
standards) 2006 murder of a nightclub owner (and former
friend) in a dispute over money. Although Minister of Health
KHAW Boon Wan deferred to the involved families to confirm
the source of Tang's new kidney, Khaw did not deny that Tan
may have specified Tang as an intended recipient. The media
reported that Tang was one of only two people in Singapore to
undergo a kidney transplant on January 9, the day of Tan's
hanging. Khaw did praise Tan's generosity in donating his
organs.


2. (C) This neat resolution appears to raise new questions
about the GOS's role in addressing Tang's health problems and
perhaps facilitating the transplant. Tang's predicament
prompted the GOS to undertake a major reform of the Human
Organ Transplant Act (HOTA) to allow compensation for organ
donors (ref B). However, Tang would still have awaited
parliamentary action on the HOTA amendments, which could take
several months. Meanwhile, more than 500 other Singaporeans
are waiting for donor kidneys and only 80 receive one each
year. Tang's health was at one point so poor that he had
been removed from the kidney waiting list. He was only added
back to the list last October after undergoing triple heart
bypass surgery. If Tan did not specify Tang as a recipient
for his kidney, it is not clear how Tang got to the front of
the line.


3. (SBU) Notwithstanding that Tang has a new kidney, the
proposed HOTA amendments appear to enjoy strong public
support and be on track for passage. On January 12, MOH
released a summary of the feedback it received from 200
individuals and nine professional organizations gathered
during a 30-day public consultation period in November and
December (ref B). MOH found that 85 percent of Singaporeans
are in favor of compensating organ donors for lost income and
expenses associated with the transplant and follow-up care.
Three in four Singaporeans think the amount of compensation
should be at least S$50,000 (US$33,783). There was
reportedly no consensus about whether foreigners should be
included in the compensation scheme as well, so MOH indicated
it will create guidelines for hospital transplant ethics
committees to determine how to reimburse foreigners without
letting them profit from the donation. The amendments to the
HOTA are expected to go to Parliament for debate early this
year.

Visit Embassy Singapore's Classified website:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eap/singapore/ind ex.cfm


HERBOLD