Independent inquiry clears bullying, workplace pressure claims in death of pathologist in Lahad Datu

Independent inquiry clears bullying, workplace pressure claims in death of pathologist in Lahad Datu



Chairman of the Independent Inquiry, Tan Sri Borhan Dolah, speaks during a press conference in Putrajaya January 22, 2025, which was held to announce the findings of its investigation into the death of pathologist Dr Tay Tien Yaa. — Bernama pic

Wednesday, 22 Jan 2025 1:48 PM MYT


PUTRAJAYA, Jan 22 — The death of pathologist Dr Tay Tien Yaa in Lahad Datu, Sabah, in August last year did not involve the issue of bullying or the deceased was burdened with an excessive workload, according to an Independent inquiry investigating the death.

Chairman of the Independent Inquiry, Tan Sri Borhan Dolah, told a special press conference here today, that claims of Dr Tay being pressured, oppressed or bullied by her department head were baseless.

“If we look at the result of the work, they work as a good team, always in contact and helping one another,” he said.

On Aug 29 last year, the death of the pathology specialist, who purportedly committed suicide due to bullying by her department head, went viral on social media.

This was revealed by the victim’s younger sibling, who claimed that her sister was subjected to mistreatment by her department head at the Lahad Datu Hospital and faced immense pressure from the workload in the unit.

Borhan said there was also no issue of the victim being burdened with excessive workloads or given responsibilities outside the scope of work.

“The results of our investigation found that the tasks performed by the deceased were as specified in her task list or job description.

“There is not a single thing that we found that was outside the scope or outside of her duties and as Deputy Head of Department 1, Dr Tay was responsible for managing procurement, store maintenance and others,” he said.

Regarding the claim that Dr Tay was referred to as a medical officer for matters outside her specialisation, he said there was no evidence regarding the allegation.

Borhan stated that there was also an allegation that Dr Tay’s department head failed to function as a leader, but this was found to be baseless as “they all worked as a team and conducted themselves professionally.”

“So, the question that she was oppressed and so on does not arise. There was no incident or complaint of the department head and the deceased seen arguing,” he said.

Over a claim that Dr Tay wanted to remain working in the peninsula, Borhan said there was no appeal made by the deceased to the Human Resource Department on the matter.

“We conclude there that what has been said all this time that the deceased was pressured, oppressed and bullied by her Head of Department has no basis,” he said.

He said the findings were based on an investigation involving interviews with 19 individuals including family members, staff and witnesses.

“A total of 41 documents including video recordings, photographs, medical and police reports were analysed, in addition to visits to the Pathology Department of the hospital concerned,” he said.

Following the incident, Borhan said several recommendations had been submitted to the Ministry of Health (MoH) to avoid such incidents from happening again.

One of them is for the MoH to organise programmes to help medical officers who are transferred to other places adapt to their new environment quickly, he added. — Bernama