Surgery to amputate ‘caned’ pupil’s arm postponed

The boy’s aunt says the surgery on Mohamad Thaqif Amin Mohd Ghaddafi has been postponed because his heart is not stable.

JOHOR BAHRU: Surgery to amputate the right arm of the 11-year-old pupil of an Islamic religious school here that was scheduled to take place this morning has been postponed.

The boy’s aunt, Dzuraidah Ahmad, 38, when contacted today, said the surgery on Mohamad Thaqif Amin Mohd Ghaddafi was postponed because the condition of his heart was not stable.

“Mohamad Thaqif Amin was scheduled to undergo surgery to amputate his (right) arm from the fingers to below the elbow at 8am today due to bacterial infection.

“However, the surgery has been postponed until his heart stabilises,” she said.

Thaqif was admitted to Sultan Ismail Hospital (HSI) on Wednesday for injuries on his legs after he was allegedly caned by the assistant warden of the school.

On Saturday, Thaqif slipped into a coma after both his legs were amputated by HSI doctors a day earlier in a bid to prevent infection to tissues and blood cells in his body.

Doctors later found that his right hand had turned black due to a bacterial infection and blood clots had started to form on his left shoulder and they informed his family that his arm had also turned necrotic.

Yesterday Johor Health, Environment, Education and Information Committee chairman Ayub Rahmat said blood and health screening tests on Thaqif to find out the actual causes that led to both of his legs being amputated would be known in one or two weeks’ time. -FMT