The Criminal Court on Wednesday jailed a doctor for four years and 12 months for the death of a patient during a face-lift procedure two years ago.
The court was sentencing Dr Thanapol Thongprasert, 51, owner of a cosmetic surgery clinic in the Town in Town area of Bangkok.
He had been convicted for recklessness causing the death of 72-year-old Natthamol Prachaseri on Oct 11, 2019, establishing a medical facility without permission and operating it without permission.
He had received a far longer sentence but the court halved his penalties on the facility establishment and operation charges due to his confession. The 12 months are counted on the basis of minor offences and are never rounded off as a year.
The court heard that during the face-lift procedure, Dr Thanapol administered 12cc of local anaesthetic to Natthamol without first asking or testing if she was allergic to any medicine.
Natthamol later developed a severe allergic reaction, exhibited by her swollen lips. Her fingers also turned green and she appeared to stop breathing, prompting the doctor to pump her chest with a machine. This was blamed for causing the broken ribs, ruptured liver and internal bleeding which contributed to her death.
Dr Thanapol denied the charge of recklessness causing death.
During his trial, however, a prosecution witness testified that the local anaesthetic used on Natthamol was potentially dangerous if administered without care.
Natthamol, the court heard, also suffered from hypertension.
After the hearing, Anicha Prachaseri, Natthamol's daughter, said the trial was the family's recourse for justice and said the family had also filed for 200 million baht in damages in the Civil Court.
She added the defendant had never apologised or attempted to talk to the family about her mother's death.