The Health Ministry has issued a denial of a report in a Singaporean news portal on a victim who was said to have been asked for payment upfront before receiving treatment in a Johor Baru hospital.

The report in The Independent alleged that Sultanah Aminah Hospital (HSA) “withheld treatment” to 25-year-old Justinian Tan, who later died from injuries sustained in a hit-and-run incident with a Malaysian vehicle.

It was reported that Tan only received an ambulance after 30 minutes of waiting, which Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah refuted.

“From the ambulance service records, it was noted that the emergency call was made at 2.57am on Aug 25, 2017. The ambulance left HSA at 2.59am, arrived at the scene at 3.10am, and departed from the scene with the patient at 3.15am,” Noor Hisham said in a statement.

He also denied that Tan was asked for a deposit before treatment as his was an emergency case.

In the statement, Noor Hisham said that Tan was taken to the emergency department of HSA, wherein the advanced trauma life support protocol that had been initiated in the ambulance was continued.

“The emergency department team also initiated the necessary imaging (primary survey X-rays, CT-scan of brain, cervical and thorax), treatment (including intubation) and referral to the relevant team in a very timely and professional manner,” he added.

Tan was thereafter referred to the neurosurgery team, and decompressive craniectomy, removal of the clot, and intracranial pressure monitoring were planned without demand for any payment of deposit.

It was only after Tan’s family arrived at the hospital that a deposit was requested, as per protocols for foreign patients, Noor Hisham added, but they opted for discharge at own risk and arranged for admission to a hospital in Singapore, after being made aware of the risks of delaying surgery.

According to The Independent, Tan was admitted into the Singapore General Hospital around noon, but was later declared brain dead. He was taken off life support the following day.