Boy awarded RM359,123 after botched circumcision leaves permanent scarring

In a landmark courtroom ruling, a Terengganu Sessions Court has awarded RM359,122.90 to a boy who suffered permanent scarring and extensive skin loss due to a botched circumcision at a private clinic in 2023. Judge Wan Nor Aklima Wan Salleh ruled that Klinik Perubatan Hijraa in Kuala Nerus was medically negligent, awarding the boy RM300,000 in general damages and RM59,122.90 for ongoing and future medical expenses.

The youngster's genital injuries, which required multiple surgeries and full-thickness skin grafting, were deemed beyond normal complications of a proper procedure. The court found that the clinic failed to call upon an expert to support its claim about the scar's acceptability and offered no reasonable explanation for the significant skin loss.

Despite the successful surgery, the court acknowledged that the boy will bear the scar into adulthood, with uncertain long-term effects. The case initially stemmed from a defamation lawsuit filed by the clinic's operator, Hijraa Healthcare Sdn Bhd, against the boy's mother and another woman after the boy's injuries were publicized on Facebook, but the defamation case was dismissed and the operator appealed the entire decision.