{
  "id": 14669043,
  "title": "SGH neurosurgery chief under investigation after failing to report patient's death: ‘My heart overruled my brain’",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/15/sgh-neurosurgery-chief-under-investigation-after-failing-to-report",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-10-15T09:00:20.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Independent Singapore",
    "slug": "the-independent-singapore",
    "url": "https://theindependent.sg/sgh-neurosurgery-chief-under-investigation-after-failing-to-report-patient-s-death-my-heart-overruled-my-brain"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In early 2024, the head of neurosurgery at Singapore General Hospital (SGH) performed surgery on a 75-year-old woman named Madam Tan Suan Lin. Complications during the procedure led the surgeon, Jai Prashanth Rao, to stop and the patient subsequently died six days later. It has since been reported that Rao failed to report the patient's death to the coroner, according to CNA's reporting.\n\nRao testified that he believed only deaths occurring within 24 hours of surgery needed to be reported to the coroner. Despite informing the family of the complications and poor survival chances, he decided not to report the death to avoid further distress. The family, particularly the patient's daughter, had repeatedly expressed that her mother did not want an autopsy. Because Rao did not report the death, no autopsy was performed and her death certificate only listed the brain tumour as the cause of death. However, a forensic pathologist from the Health Sciences Authority suggested that the patient might have died from the bleeding complications during the surgery.\n\nThe National Neuroscience Institute conducted an internal review, flagging the case to the coroner in February 2025. A police report was filed in March 2025 due to the unreported death, which falls under the Coroners Act. Offenders who are aware of a reportable death, including those directly or indirectly related to medical treatment, could face up to one month in jail or a fine of up to S$1,500 if they do not report it without reasonable excuse. The State Coroner, Adam Nakhoda, will provide the findings in a future date.",
  "summary": "SINGAPORE: In early 2024, the head of neurosurgery at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) began operating on a 75-year-old woman. Complications during the procedure compelled him to stop, and the woman died six days later. Out of compassion for the family, Jai Prashanth Rao, the department head of SGH’s National Neuroscience Institute, did not report his patient’s death to the coroner. However,…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}