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Woman’s pneumonia caused her death during massage: State Coroner

Qing Kang Integrated Chinese Medicine Clinic at Midpoint Orchard (Photo: Safhras Khan/Yahoo Singapore)

A pneumonia infection was the cause of a woman’s death during a massage session earlier this year.

Serene Lim Xinhui, a 26-year-old Singaporean, suffered a seizure and died while she was having a massage at Qing Kang Integrated Chinese Medicine Clinic at Midpoint Orchard on 14 February 2016.

At a Coroner’s Inquiry at the State Courts on Thursday (28 July), District Judge Marvin Bay concluded that Lim died from interstitial pneumonia, a lung infection that could kill a person while the body is at rest.

He came to the conclusion of natural death after hearing the testimony of pathologist Dr Chan Shi Jia, one of four witnesses who took the stand.

Dr Chan, who did the autopsy on Lim, said that her investigations pointed to the deceased having suffered from the infection while she was having the massage at the clinic.

She noted that Lim had also suffered from fractures at her ribs, and her legs and knees had bruises. The fractures could be due to resuscitation efforts made when Lim had her seizure, Dr Chan added.

Clinic staff who attended to Lim

Two staff from the clinic also took to the stand on Thursday. Ma Ke Jian, the physician who inspected Lim before the massage, said that she appeared normal.

“Lim told me she was suffering from diarrhoea and was having a slight headache. She added that she also had body aches. I took her pulse and said she had a cold.

"I then instructed the masseuse to massage her with less pressure,” Ma said.

Li Wei Wei, the masseuse who attended to Lim, said the deceased looked normal when the treatment started around 6 pm on that day. Li said that Lim was in a prone position and she was massaging her back.

Lim pointed to the masseuse that her right shoulder was aching. In order to massage the area, Li asked Lim to lie on her side.

“However, when she turned, she started to have seizure. I asked if she was OK but she was unable to reply to me,” said Li, who then sought help from Ma and her boss.

Li and her boss attempted to help Lim and called for the paramedics who later arrived at the scene and pronounced Lim dead.

DJ Bay said that the autopsy reports indicated that the deceased was underweight and had previously been diagnosed with anorexia nervosa in 2009.

He noted that the 1.59-metre tall Lim weighed 39 kilograms while her Body Mass Index (BMI) was 15.4, lower than the healthy level of 18.5.

“The massage that the deceased was undergoing had no direct connection to her death and the cause of her death was due to the interstitial pneumonia virus which could cause sudden death while the body is at rest,” he said.