A female non-resident worker from the Philippines in her thirties was arrested last Sunday for illegally injecting a fellow Filipina with a whitening substance resulting in bacteraemia, according to a statement by the Public Security Police (PSP) on Friday.
Bacteraemia is the medical condition of having bacteria in the bloodstream.
Meanwhile, a local man and his younger sister, as well as a Hong Kong man aged between 40 and 60 were arrested for the involvement of illegally hiring the suspect to work in Macau, the statement said.
According to the statement, the Public Security Police were notified on June 20 by a local hospital that a Filipina was unwell after having a whitening treatment. According to a preliminary diagnosis, the woman suffered bacteraemia.
PSP officers discovered that the victim’s Filipino friend had introduced her early last month to the suspect who claimed that she was able to provide her with a full-body whitening treatment. The statement pointed out that as the treatment was cheap, the victim went to the suspect’s home in Rua de Coelho do Amaral and had three courses of treatment on June 6, 13 and 19 respectively, at a cost of 200 patacas each, the statement said.
According to the statement, each of the three treatments were carried out in about 15 minutes through intravenous therapy (IV therapy). On June 19, the victim felt dizzy and vomited about five minutes after the jab. She immediately went to a local hospital for treatment. The doctor confirmed that she was suffering from blood infection septic shock probably caused by the whitening jabs.
PSP officers arrested the suspect in Rua de Coelho do Amaral last Sunday, and seized a quantity of saline solution, syringes, intravascular catheters, medical plasters, disinfecting wipes, and other medical supplies at her home. Under questioning, the suspect admitted that she was earning a living by administering whitening injections. She purchased the products online in January, but insisted that so far she had only administered three jabs to a fellow Filipina for 600 patacas in total.
She claimed that she had used the rest of the whitening products on herself, and admitted that she neither had any medical expertise nor any experience in giving others injections, the statement said.
According to the statement, the PSP also discovered that the suspect’s employment status was suspicious. A follow-up investigation revealed that the suspect had asked a Hong Kong man to assist her in obtaining a non-resident worker permit in Macau so that she could stay in Macau legally, and paid him 10,000 patacas as a referral fee.
The statement said that the Hong Kong man was arrested for introducing the suspect to a local man, who told his sister to hire the suspect. The local duo were paid 8,000 patacas by the Hong Kong man for the deal. Both were also arrested for arranging illegal employment.
The four suspects have been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) facing charges of document forgery while the Filipina also faces charges of causing bodily harm due to negligence and illegal engagement in work beyond her officially approved job description, according to the statement.
This undated handout photo provided by the Public Security Police (PSP) on Friday shows PSP officers escorting the four suspects to a police station in Nam Van.
This undated handout photo provided by the Public Security Police (PSP) on Friday shows various pieces of evidence such as a number of syringes, medical plasters and whitening products.
