A 30-year-old Filipino woman with a high fever passed away on Saturday after being given an intravenous injection of a skin-whitening solution the day before from an Indonesian domestic worker, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Chan Wun Man said in a regular press conference yesterday.
The suspect is a 35-year-old woman surnamed Endang. She has been working as a domestic helper in Macau for around a year.
According to Chan, the victim had been suffering from influenza with a high fever and had felt unwell since Thursday. On Friday morning, she went with a friend to the suspect’s flat on Travessa dos Calafates in Patane to receive the skin-whitening injection. Later that day, she still had a high fever and became delirious and was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre.
The victim was pronounced dead early Saturday morning.
Police officers and Health Bureau officials went to Endang’s flat on Saturday afternoon where they found a large number of syringes and injectable solutions. Endang, who does not hold a licence permitting her to carry out any medical procedures, admitted to injecting the Filipina on Friday with a third whitening injection of a four-treatment course, and insisted that the victim had had the two previous injections without any adverse effects.
According to Chan, Endang told the police that she had been giving people skin-whitening treatment for several months and that the injection solution containing vitamin C and skin-whitening substances was sent from Indonesia by her family. She said that she had undergone midwifery training in Indonesia more than 10 years ago, and that her more than 10 customers comprised domestic helpers and Indonesian compatriots had undergone her skin-whitening course of treatment, for which she charged 1,000 patacas.
Endang was transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) yesterday, facing a charge of the unauthorised exercise of a licensed profession, Chan noted.
The cause of the Filipina’s death is still under investigation, and if it is found that the illegal injection caused her death, the suspect may face additional charges, according to Chan, who did not disclose the Filipina’s occupation.
This undated photo provided by the Judiciary Police (PJ) yesterday shows the skin-whitening treatment supplies seized from the Indonesian suspect’s home.
