S'pore woman, 78, bedridden for more than 1 month, apparently signed up for S$17,000 TCM massage package

The family of a 78-year-old woman, purportedly bedridden days after she went for a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) massage, are now requesting for the TCM centre to disclose the contents of the medical paste they had used on the woman.

Family found her on the bed in a comatose state

The son of the woman, surnamed Liu, told the Shin Min Daily News that he found her in a comatose state on her bed on Nov. 10 night and immediately rushed her to the hospital.

He said the doctors diagnosed her with gastrointestinal bleeding, sent her for an emergency operation, and admitted her into the intensive care unit (ICU).

Liu's daughter said the doctors asked if she had partaken of traditional Chinese medicine.

The daughter and son both said they had never heard of her visiting a TCM doctor — until they discovered through receipts found at home that she had signed packages totalling over S$17,000 with a TCM centre.

According to the receipts, Liu paid over S$15,000 for a "special skills-required package" that was "non-transferable nor refundable".

Liu's daughter then called the TCM centre to ask for their prescription, but the centre refused as they claimed it was "confidential".

Usually healthy

The siblings said Liu had always been healthy except for the occasional knee ache.

They said now she cannot even get down from the bed on her own and needed help going to the toilet or when showering.

Liu's son said that in September 2024, Liu had initially gone to a massage place in Hougang but was referred to the TCM centre instead.

Liu told him that at the centre, the therapy involved a practitioner massaging her back and legs after applying medicinal paste.

"She said the paste was odourless and not sticky. She suddenly felt more awake when it was applied to her back," Liu's son said.

The siblings reported the matter to the police.

In response to queries, the police told Shin Min that they referred the case to Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners Board instead.

In a statement to Shin Min, the board said its job is to supervise practitioners registered under it regarding their professional conduct and ethics and that if anyone wants to make a formal complaint about one of the practitioners, they should file a complaint with a statutory declaration.

A person in charge of the TCM clinic told Shin Min that they were in touch with the family and hoped they would provide them with relevant hospitalisation documents so they can refund S$4,000.

The siblings claimed that a doctor told them if the medical paste applied to the body contains steroids, it might cause gastric acid influx and lead to gastrointestinal bleeding, ulcers and other symptoms.

A TCM practitioner told Shin Min that while she could not comment much as she did not know what was in the medical paste, she said that if it contained many different herbs, it could overstimulate acupuncture points.

She said it might have exacerbated existing gastrointestinal issues, but applying medicinal paste to the body should not cause issues if the "right amount" was used.

Top image via Shin Min Daily News