Disclaimer: In Real Life is a platform for everyday people to share their experiences and voices. All articles are personal stories and do not necessarily echo In Real Life’s sentiments.
My name is Ayie. I work as a driver, and my wife works as an admin. We live together in Bandar Baru Sentul, Kuala Lumpur which has been placed under EMCO since 3rd of July.
My wife has been pregnant since May 2021. She was in her first trimester, and this was her second pregnancy. Her first pregnancy last year ended prematurely with a miscarriage. This time, knowing it was a high risk pregnancy, we followed up with the doctor diligently.
On Tuesday 29th June, we went to a nearby clinic, because my wife had been spotting (bleeding from her vagina).
Image: The results of the visit to the klinic on 29th June, with an appointment card set for the follow-up appointment on 6th July. Identities have been censored to preserve privacy.
At the time, PKPD (Perintah Kawalan Pergarakan Diperketatkan) had not been enforced, so we were able to visit the clinic without issue.
The doctor gave us some medicine to stop the bleeding and said: “If masih still ada spotting lagi, you mesti kena datang cepat-cepat, sebab emergency.” (If you are still bleeding, come to my clinic immediately, because it’s an emergency.)
The medicine given was only to last one week, and the doctor told us that once the medicine runs out, to return to him for a follow-up. We then went home.
On Saturday 3rd July, our area was placed under PKPD.
The police came and erected barbed wire surrounding our apartment complex. No one was to go out, no one was to go in.
It was like this:
The cordoned off area during PKPD Bandar Baru Sentul (Block 75 & 77), on 5 July 2021. Image via Twitter.
My Wife Continued To Bleed But Police Said That This Was Not Considered An Emergency
At 12.30pm, Tuesday, I went to the police tent and told them about my wife’s condition, that she was bleeding, and I needed to bring my wife to the clinic urgently.
“Saya ada appointment,” I said (“I have an appointment.”) as I showed the policewoman the clinic appointment card.
The policewoman replied: “Kita tak boleh benarkan, sebab bukan emergency.” (“We can’t give you permission to leave, because it’s not an emergency.”
“Ini ialah emergency,” I told her. (“It is an emergency.”) So the policewoman gave me the number of their Medical Mobile Team.
I called them quickly, explained my wife’s situation to them, and they told me they would send an ambulance. We were not allowed to leave except in this ambulance van. We were then sent to visit a doctor unfamiliar with my wife’s case.
So we waited. 1 hour became 2 hours.
I kept asking the police where the van was.
“Tunggu la sekejap lagi, van KKM akan datang pick up,” They said. (“Wait just a bit longer, the MInistry of Health van is coming soon.”) We waited some more. 2 hours became 3 hours.
By this time, we were both in a panic. My wife had been spotting since morning. It was now mid-afternoon. Finally, at 3.30pm, the ambulance arrived.
When they arrived, we had to wait in the flat. They came upstairs to check my wife’s blood pressure and share the swab test results from a day earlier, which was negative.
So they said, “Ok la jom ikut kita.” (“Alright, fine, come with us.”)
“Nak bawa kita pergi mana? Saya ada appointment dengan klinik swasta.” I asked. (“Where are you taking us? I have an appointment with a private clinic already.”)
“Tak boleh, tidak dibenarkan,” they told us. “Urusan dengan klinik swasta tak boleh, only doktor kerajaan boleh scan kandungan wife kamu.” (“It’s not allowed. You are only allowed to see a government doctor to scan your wife’s pregnancy.”)
Left with no other choice, we followed them to Government Hospital 1 (name redacted).
We were seen at a separate location because the gov hospital was full.
Halfway through the journey, they stopped by Government Klinik Kesihatan 1 (name redacted).
“Why are we here?” I asked.
“Ni sekejap kita akan isi borang, and then pergi hospital.” (“We just need to fill up some forms, and then we’ll take you to the hospital.”)
We waited very long. Then a doctor at the klinik saw us. He told us that he had just called the hospital and received information from the doctor there that they have too many cases to handle at Government Hospital 1 and this case was a “normal” case and not “serious”.
The doctor mentioned that if my wife suddenly felt a lot of blood or discharge, we would have to call 999 and have her sent to the hospital.
We were sent home with Folic Acid tablets and a MC, no ultrasound was done at Government Klinik Kesihatan 1 to ensure our baby was ok.
We went home, worried and confused about what had just happened. We weren’t allowed to have our baby scanned nor were we allowed to top up on medications that ran out.
But there were no answers, we had no idea if our baby was okay.
Throughout the night my wife was still bleeding and we suspected it was far more serious than the doctor made it out to be. Especially a diagnosis without even an ultrasound.
Since we were out of options, we reached out to the private clinic doctor again.
The MC and folic acid that the KK doctor gave us. Identities have been censored to preserve privacy.
My wife contacted the private clinic again.
Over the phone, we told the doctor our story, and he was puzzled with the SOPs and why we weren’t allowed to leave for our medical appointment.
The doctor was kind enough to send over the medication required via Lalamove.
The medication that the private clinic gave us, Duphaston 10mg. Identity of the klinik is kept anonymous to preserve privacy.
However, my wife felt something was not right. So I went down to the police tent again and asked them once more if we could leave to see our doctor again. This time they said we were able to because it was an emergency case.
I questioned why I was not allowed to leave on the first day for the same reason. I was told that the police team on this shift wasn’t the one that said it, but the other team and the officer in charge on Tuesday should have let me go as it was indeed an emergency.
So we left for the private clinic where we finally had an ultrasound done. It was 3 days after our initial appointment.
The doctor scanned my wife’s belly with the ultrasound… and there was no longer a heartbeat.
A few days prior, we heard our unborn child’s heartbeat for the first time and it brought us much joy. Never did we expect just 10 days later we were not going to be parents anymore.
My wife and I wanted a second opinion. The doctor referred us to a specialist centre for an intravaginal ultrasound to be done.
We went to the specialist centre and had another scan done, the result only confirmed the first diagnosis: There was no longer a heartbeat. Our baby was no longer with us.
We were in shock, thinking how did it come to this?!
We sat there and listened to the doctor advise us that a D&C (dilation and curettage procedure) had to be done to “wash” the insides of my wife to remove my unborn child after which we slowly picked up our results and walked to our car.
Both of us were in disbelief, tears were streaming down our faces, but I was forced to stay strong for her and told her that everything will be ok.
When we got home, we were grieving for days while confined to our small flat. I held her and told her it will be okay, we will be okay.
I felt a deep sense of injustice building inside me.
I had so many questions and yet nobody had the answers
The doctor at the Government Klinik Kesihatan 1 had said that we weren’t allowed to go to a private clinic, and only they could attend to our case. Why were we not allowed to visit the private clinic for our follow-up appointment?
The doctor also told us that my wife’s case is not a serious one, unless there is a lot of blood or discharge for which we can call 999 and wait patiently for the ambulance to arrive.
Why did the policewoman not allow us to visit the clinic when we had an appointment?
I had so many questions and yet nobody had the answers. I needed to know the truth.
I confronted the police outside my flat.
I went downstairs and confronted the police, asking them to explain what had happened. Then I asked them the big question.
“Kenapa you all buat macam ni? Patutnya you all mesti bagi kita keluar dari mulanya!” I asked in exasperation.
(Why did you do this? You should have let us go from the beginning.)
The police replied, “Kami dari pihak PDRM meminta maaf atas kesilapan.”
(On behalf of the PDRM, we are sorry for our mistake.”)
It was as simple as that, there had been a loss of life and the officer who refused to let us out whilst the SOPs stated otherwise. All she had to say was she was sorry on behalf of PDRM and it was their mistake.
A verbal apology, that is all this is worth.
On Monday, I lodged a report at the police station. Coincidentally, it was my wife’s birthday. While I was at the station making the report, she was at a medical centre going through a rather painful procedure to remove the remains of our unborn child.
It was the worst day of our lives.
I had also lodged a report with Suruhanjaya Integrity Agensi Penguatkuasaan as well on this.
An excerpt of the complaint I filed at Aduan Salah Laku Pihak Berkuasa.
I was asked why I made a report, I was asked if I had the intention to take further action. The answer is NO.
What I want cannot be given back to me as it is lost.
I just hope this does not happen to anybody else and the authorities take note and take necessary action to ensure that the people are not put in difficult situations such as this, especially during this pandemic.
If you’re uncertain about the SOP when it comes to emergencies, here are the facts:
“Bagi kes kecemasan seperti mendapatan rawatan kesihatan atau kematian adalah DIBERNARKAN setelah mendapat kebenaran daripada PDRM.”
(For emergency cases such as receiving medical attention or death, it is ALLOWED to leave after obtaining permission from the Malaysian Royal Police Force.)
Addressing the bigger issue here:
PDRM officers and KKM Personnel are frontliners, they have put up with a lot during this pandemic, I and many Malaysians respect that and value their contributions. In this particular instance, instructions were not given clearly and SOPs were not outlined in great detail so that it can be understood and adhered to.
This pandemic has been difficult for everyone in Malaysia and the personnel while they may be burnt out from the ongoing cycle of MCOs and increase in cases should never get desensitised to the plight of the people.
PDRM officers at EMCO locations should have a certain level of empathy whilst dealing with cases such as this and enforcement should be done with practicality in mind too.
The officers in my case should have consulted the doctors or even spoken to someone higher up to understand the SOPs to request for an exception for an emergency.
The above has made us question several things, one of which is if we were able to leave on the day of our appointment and receive medical attention sooner, would our baby still be with us?
I feel I need to share my story to make sure it doesn’t happen to anyone else.
Please stay safe during the MCO everyone.
Editor’s note: The police have begun investigations into this story and mentioned that actions will be taken. They further advise all Malaysians not to share non-verified information and wait for official announcements made by the government with regards to EMCO SOP.
For more stories like this, read: I Was Arrested By PDRM and Held in Custody For 6 Days, Here’s What I Saw In There and “I’m Asked For My IC During Ramadan” The Struggle Of A Chindian Who Is Mistaken For Malay
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