THE ‘RACIST’ DOCS WHO LET MUM DIE
Cash settlement for son Ravi Jacques after Hong Kong hospital death of Harinder Variah
Published: 8 April 2010
by DAN CARRIER
AN eleven-year-old boy has been told he may never know the truth behind his mother’s tragic death in a Hong Kong hospital where doctors were accused of racism and negligence.
Ravi Jacques was just 16 months old when Harinder Variah died from a heart attack two days after suffering an epileptic seizure.
She had been admitted to the Ruttonjee Hospital, where Ravi’s father, Observer journalist Martin Jacques, believes doctors failed to treat her properly.
Harinder had been recovering from an initial seizure, but it is claimed she was not monitored correctly after sedatives were administered.
An out-of-court settlement was reached this week after a case in Ravi’s name was brought against the hospital in the Hong Kong High Court. It had been alleged that it was guilty of negligence and racism. The hospital has rejected the allegations.
Mr Jacques, of East Heath Road, Hampstead, told yesterday of the impact on his son, describing how Ravi had often written at school about coping without his mother.
“Even at 16 months, people say he was too young to know – but that is not true,” said Mr Jacques. “He had his own sense of grief. He knew immediately at 16 months – your mum is so incredibly important. At school he has often written about what it is like not to have a mother.”
Harinder, 33, died in January 2000 soon after celebrating the Millennium. While Mr Jacques and his son have finally agreed a “substantial” settlement with the Hong Kong authorities, the writer said he has faced the heart-breaking ordeal of having to explain to him how he has fought for “justice” for his mother, only for the hospital to refuse to accept responsibility.
Speaking to the New Journal from Hong Kong, Mr Jacques said: “Ravi asked me last week: Why did you have to settle and not go to court? I have always explained to Ravi what I was doing, so he would know and at some level comprehend it. Now he has full understanding and his own view, his own opinion. And he asks good questions – his feelings are the same as mine. Because Ravi’s case was being funded by the legal aid department, we were advised we had no option other than to accept.”
In the time between her admission and her death, Harinder, who was half-Indian, half Malay, initially appeared to be recovering but expressed fears that she was being ignored by doctors because of the colour of her skin.
She said she had overheard staff making derogatory comments about her.
“There is no joy, no happiness, no peace,” said Mr Jacques. “Ravi lost his mother as a result of prejudice and negligence.”
Mr Jacques said the couple had suffered “endemic racism” while living in Hong Kong. They had moved there in 1999 – Harinder was working for a law firm while Mr Jacques was researching a book on China.
“People would refuse to serve her in restaurants, keep her waiting in shops, mutter abuse at her in the street, and she suffered at work, too,” he said.
The Ruttonjee Hospital has denied responsibility for Harinder’s death. An inquest in Hong Kong in 2000 ruled there had been no negligence at the hospital. A coroner’s inquest in London two years later reached an “open verdict”.