THE Kuala Lumpur High Court today dismissed an application by the government and four other parties to stay the execution of a judgment regarding the payment of damages amounting to RM3.1 million to a man who lost the head of his penis in a botched circumcision 12 years ago. 

Judge Akhtar Tahir dismissed the application on grounds that there was no special circumstance for the court to grant a stay of execution of the judgment as by the defendants. 

“The grounds of appeal have been filed (by the five defendants) in the Court of Appeal and the problem in the procedure to withdraw money from the Treasury is not a special circumstance,” he said. 

He said the concern by the defendants that the money cannot be refunded by the youth if they won in their case at the Court of Appeal was not a special circumstance that justified the court granting a stay of execution of the judgment. 

“An appeal at the Court of Appeal will not take long to be heard. So, it is not possible that that amount of money (RM3.1 million) can be spent in a short time. Therefore, the application is dismissed with a cost of RM3,000,” he said. 

Apart from the government, the other four defendants are Kuala Lipis Hospital’s medical officer and director, and Selayang Hospital’s specialist and director. 

They are appealing against Akhtar’s decision on April 7 in awarding damages of RM3.1 million to the 22-year-old victim. 

In a written judgment, issued on May 27, the judge said the delay on the part of the medical staff in treating the man’s injuries had dashed the plaintiff’s hope of saving his penis.

The man filed the suit on July 19, 2018, through his mother, claiming that during the circumcision process performed on December 13, 2010, it was not done according to the prescribed procedure, resulting in the entire head of her son’s penis to be severed.

As a result of that, she claimed her son had suffered permanent disability and became a reserved person. – Bernama, July 26, 2022.