News

Woman from S’pore Reportedly Dies After Being Denied Treatment During Holiday in Europe

2022-03-05 , 11:25 am

What was originally supposed to be a rare opportunity to travel abroad for an 11-day scenic tour around Europe for a Singaporean couple, two years after the COVID-19 Pandemic struck, unexpectedly ended in a tragedy.

Ma Qingqing, a 42-year-old financial advisor, passed away in Frankfurt, Germany on 19 Feb 2022.

The tragedy was reported by Shin Min Daily News on 3 March.

The Travel Itinerary

With the gradual relaxation of COVID-19 restriction measures two years after the pandemic descended, Ms Ma Qingqing and her husband, the 44-year-old Zhang Yiyong, decided to go on an 11-day European Tour in October 2021.

The married couple spent more than S$6,000 on the entire tour for the flight, accommodations, and the tour group.

By all accounts, it was supposed to be an enjoyable vacation; a breath taker after the stifling restrictions and paranoia from the pandemic.

The couple set off for the Europe tour on 12 Feb 2022.

Feeling Unwell Upon Arrival in Netherlands

According to Mr Zhang, his deceased wife started to feel unwell after getting off the 12-hour flight to Amsterdam, which was their first stop.

She had a sore throat and headache, so she took an antigen rapid test (ART), though the results were negative.

Thus, Ms Ma took some medication and brushed it off, merely assuming that her body was either jet-lagged or unadjusted because it’s been a long time since she last took a plane.

“At that time, her condition was mild, so we continued to tour with the group, and visited a few scenic locations,” Mr Zhang recounted.

Three days into the tour, Ms Ma’s initial symptoms had turned for the better, but she suddenly started feeling pain in her lower abdomen.

The tour guide took them to a first aid facility in the hotel.

After measuring her blood pressure, everything was normal.

The medical staff prescribed her some medication for the pain and told her if she continued to feel any pain, she should seek medical attention immediately.

Ms Ma felt better after eating the painkillers, so they continued on their journey and headed for Germany.

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No Diagnosed Cause for the Abdominal Pain

After reaching Germany, Ms Ma went to two hospitals in two different cities for check-ups.

However, not only did the hospitals fail to find the cause of her illness, but the pain in her lower abdomen went from bad to worse.

In the end, she was admitted into a hospital in Frankfurt, Germany, on 18 February.

Mr Zhang said, “Due to the pandemic, I wasn’t allowed to accompany my wife in the hospital. She said that the doctors originally suspected that it was a bladder infection, but the diagnosis report showed that everything was normal.”

What Mr Zhang could never anticipate was two hours after that conversation, his wife would be transferred to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

Back then, Mr Zhang had called the doctor, who said that they needed to do more in-depth examinations, but they didn’t manage to come to a conclusion even as the night wore on.

Thus, Mr Zhang decided that he would go down to the hospital to probe once the next morning arrived.

Ms Ma Passed Away in the Early Morning of 19 Feb

Then at 3am, he was awoken by a German police officer knocking on his hotel room door, informing him that his wife had succumbed to a coma.

Since the situation was dire, he needed to head to the hospital immediately.

After Mr Zhang arrived at the hospital, his wife remained in a comatose state the entire time.

Ms Ma Qingqing passed away on the morning of 19 February 2022, at 8:48am.

“She was originally fine, how did it become like this?” said Mr Zhang.

More Allegations

In a Facebook post by Shin Min Daily News, more information regarding what Ms Ma and Mr Zhang experienced overseas was provided.

Mr Zhang alleged that his deceased was constantly denied treatment throughout their entire journey.

When they were in the Netherlands and Germany, they sought medical assistance at least six times. They went to the first-aid facilities at their hotels, visited the local clinics and major hospitals in the various countries, and even sought help from the medical department of their airline.

Not only did the medical staff fail to find the cause time and time again, but they also refused to admit her into the hospital, which led to Ms Ma missing out the most opportune time to receive treatment.

Hence, seven days into their tour, she sank into a coma and unfortunately died in foreign lands.

Funeral Arrangements

Mr Zhang filed a complaint afterwards.

His wife’s remains could only be moved back to the country after 10 days, and it would require one to two months before her post-mortem autopsy results would be released.

Up until now, her cause of death has remained unknown.

Mr Zhang also revealed that he spent approximately €6,200 (S$9,314) to acquire clearance documents and an official death certificate from the local authorities, and source for a mortician to handle the funeral embalming.

However, when his wife’s corpse was sent back to Singapore, the local mortician told him that her remains weren’t embalmed or preserved at all before it was flown out of Germany.

Towards Ms Ma’s family, we offer our sincere condolences.