Susan Lim

Susan Lim
Education	FRCS (Edin, Gold Medal) FRCS (Glasg) M.Med Surg (S'pore) Hon MD (NewC) FACS FAMS
Alma mater	Monash University University of Cambridge
Occupation	Surgeon Scientist Entrepreneur
Website	drsusanlim.com

Susan Lim Mey Lee is a Singaporean surgeon who in 1990 performed the first successful liver transplant in Singapore.^[1]

Early life

Lim was born in Singapore and was educated at Singapore Chinese Girls' School and the Raffles Institution.^[2] In 1974 she was awarded a scholarship under the Colombo Plan to study medicine at Monash University in Australia.^[3] From 1977, during her studies, she was resident at Trinity College attached to the University of Melbourne.^[4]

Career

On 29 September 1990, Lim was the head surgeon for Singapore's first liver transplant.^[5]

In 2001, Lim started treating the sister of the Queen of Brunei for cancer of the left breast.^[6]

In 2003, Lim started the biotechnology company, Stem Cell Technologies.^[7] The following year she became a Fellow of Trinity College (University of Melbourne). She is the youngest person, and first Singaporean, to receive this honor.^[8]

Lim established the Indiapore Trust with her husband Deepak Sharma, and her friend Satpal Khattar. The trust issued $50,000 to the Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund, which assists struggling parents to meet their children's school expenses. The trust has also donated a science laboratory to Raffles Junior College and provided scholarships to underprivileged children in Singapore and India.^[8]

Lim sits on the Global Advisory Council of the International Society for Stem Cell Research.^[9] In April 2011 she gave a presentation at TED on Transplanting Cells, Not Organs.

In October 2011, Lim was included in The University of Newcastle's book 100 Women, which celebrates the achievements of 100 remarkable and inspirational women, both in Australia and globally.^[10][11]

Singapore Medical Council accusations

In February 2011, the Singapore Medical Council (SMC) presented a case to the Ministry of Health, in which Lim was accused of overcharging one of her patients, the sister of the Queen of Brunei, Pengiran Anak Hajah Damit Pg Pemancha Pg Anak Mohd Alam.^[12][13] The fees were approximately $24 million SGD and were charged for 110 treatment days from January to June 2007.

In August 2012, Lim was convicted of professional misconduct in respect of the overcharging, and was given a 3-year suspension from practising, fined $10,000 SGD and be censured in writing. Lim appealed her sentence and was allowed to continue practising, pending the outcome of the appeal.^[14][15]

On 28 June 2013, the appeal court dismissed her appeal and confirmed the sentence in all respects.^[16]

The SMC originally sought $1.33 million from Lim for the legal bills of the courtcase. The Singapore High Court found that the legal bills against her were inflated and reduced the amount from S$1.33 million to S$317,000. ^[17] The SMC appealed the decision and the courts eventually allowed for $825,000 in legal bills to be claimed from Lim.^[18]

References