Published September 4, 2008

Ailing Tang gets day's jail as judge invokes mercy

Short sentence for retail magnate caught in organ trading storm

By JAMIE LEE

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(SINGAPORE) Tang Wee Sung, former executive chairman of retailer C K Tang, served a day in jail yesterday and was fined $17,000 in total for trying to buy a kidney and making a false statutory declaration that his Indonesian donor was a relative.

Time served: Tang (left) leaving the Queenstown Remand Prison yesterday evening after serving a day in jail. He was also fined a total of $17,000

The 55-year-old, who is the first Singaporean to be sentenced for illegal organ trading, had pleaded guilty to an attempt to purchase a kidney from Sulaiman Damanik between April and June 19 this year and for lying to the Commissioner of Oaths that he was related to Damanik.

He was also charged with lying to the transplant ethics committee but this was taken into consideration in his sentence.

Delivering his sentence to a packed courtroom, District Judge Ng Peng Hong rejected a conditional discharge plea to remove a mandatory sentence for Tang's false declaration due to the gravity of the offence, but shortened the jail term in the light of Tang's poor health.

Besides taking into account Tang's long list of medical woes, including kidney and renal failure, diabetes, high blood pressure and clinical depression, Judge Ng said he had considered the social disapproval of Tang's charges.

'It is clear that the main disapproval is focused on the middlemen who profit from illicit organ trading and not the dying patient in need of a transplant or the poor, socially disadvantaged donor,' said Judge Ng, noting that based on a recent Ministry of Health parliamentary speech, the government said it would be sympathetic towards 'the basic instinct of kidney patients to try to live'. A long prison term would be 'extremely harsh' because Tang had never intended to exploit the donor and a lengthy term could endanger his life, he added.

'In view of the complex daily medical regime and medical condition, I think it is appropriate to invoke the doctrine of judicial mercy,' said Judge Ng.

'We are very gratified that he (the judge) has accepted our submissions on judicial mercy,' said Tang's lawyer Cavinder Bull of Drew & Napier, adding that there would be no appeal.

Friends and family members murmured 'amens' as the judgement was being read out, with many dabbing at their eyes after Tang - who was allowed to sit down half way through the sentence reading - was led out from the courtroom, clutching a plastic water bottle in hand.

'It's important for this to be over so that he gets on with his life,' said Foo Tiang Sooi, chief executive of C K Tang.

'I'm just very sad for my brother, for his life. He's very sick,' said eldest sister Janet Liok. A red-eyed Jannie Tay, president of Singapore Retailers Association, said: 'Why should he be jailed at all. He's been suffering and he's contributed so much to society.'

Tang was released at 5.45pm from Queenstown Remand Prison, a company spokesman said.