Singapore - A Singaporean middleman was sentenced to 14 months in jail for his role in a kidney-for-sale case involving a retail tycoon, local media reported Saturday. Wang Wee Sung, 44, who introduced Indonesian kidney donor Sulaiman Damanik to Tang Wee Sung, of CK Tang Department store, was found guilty of organ trading and coaching the kidney donor to lie in statutory declarations.
Tang, 56, tried to purchase a kidney for 300,000 Singapore dollars but was caught before the transaction went through. He was sentenced Wednesdayto one day in prison and fined 17,000 Singapore dollars (11,850 US dollars).
Wang was also found guilty for introducing another donor, Toni, to kidney patient Juliana Soh, who had a successful kidney transplant operation in Singapore in March.
Sulaiman was jailed for two weeks and fined 1,000 Singapore dollars, while Toni served three and half months and was fined 2,000 Singapore dollars and is currently quite ill.
Wang was released on bail as his lawyer, Shashi Nathan, who had argued that his client's actions were "motivated by sympathy and compassion and not greed," filed an appeal.
The judge said he hoped this case will act a deterrent to organ trading. "We do not want Singapore to turn into an illegal organ hub," said Judge Ng Peng Hong.
Wang was to receive 70,000 Singapore dollars and the organ donor was to receive 22,000 Singapore dollars.
