Gang-rape victim hanging on to life

2012-12-28 19:23

Indians protesting against a recent gang-rape of a young woman in a moving bus in New Delhi, display a poster calling for death penalty for offenders at a rally in Kolkata. (Bikas Das, AP)

Singapore - The medical condition of an Indian gang-rape victim has "taken a turn for the worse" with "signs of severe organ failure", the Singapore hospital treating her said in a statement issued late on Friday.

"Her vital signs are deteriorating with signs of severe organ failure," Kelvin Loh, chief executive officer of Mount Elizabeth Hospital where she was airlifted to from India, said.

"As of 9pm [13:00 GMT] on 28 December, the patient's condition has taken a turn for the worse," he stated.

"This is despite doctors fighting for her life including putting her on maximum artificial ventilation support, optimal antibiotic doses as well as stimulants which maximise her body's capability to fight infections."

Loh said the hospital had informed the unnamed victim's family members of her worsening condition and "they are currently by her side to encourage and comfort her".

The girl was described by Singapore doctors earlier on Friday as "struggling against the odds, and fighting for her life" after she was found with a lung infection and brain injuries in addition to suffering a cardiac arrest previously.

She had also been diagnosed with severe intestinal injuries as a result of being attacked with an iron bar during the assault in India's capital Delhi on 16 December.

- SAPA