Delhi gang-rape victim extremely critical, hospitalised in Singapore

An Indian trainee physiotherapist who was gang-raped in New Delhi December 16 arrived Thursday at a Singapore hospital for further treatment and was in an "extremely critical condition". The Indian High Commission assured that she is receiving full medical attention.

"The patient arrived at Mount Elizabeth Hospital's Intensive Care Unit at 9:05 a.m. this morning in an extremely critical condition," said the hospital spokesperson, adding that the girl is being examined and the hospital is working with the Indian High Commission.

"We request that the privacy of the patient and family be respected," the spokesperson said in a statement.

The 23-year-old victim was brutally beaten and raped by six men on a moving bus in Delhi Dec 16. She is fighting for her life with severe multiple intestinal, abdominal and other injuries.

The case shocked India, triggering protests by college students and calls for death penalty for the criminals. The six suspects have been arrested.

Xinhua quoted the Straits Times as saying that the girl was flown to the city-state, accompanied by "her parents and a team of Indian doctors led by Dr Yatin Gupta, head of the critical care unit at Delhi's Safdarjung hospital, where she was under treatment".

Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad said Thursday that her condition was stable.

"The girl reached Singapore at 5.30 in the morning... she has been admitted to the hospital and is stable," Azad told reporters in New Delhi.

The Indian High Commission in Singapore has said that the 23-year-old gang-rape victim is receiving full medical attention and asked everyone to respect the privacy of the patient.

"The High Commission is in close touch with the hospital authorities. The hospital and the family have requested that the privacy of the patient and the family be respected," said India's high commission in Singapore in a statement.

"We assure all concerned that the patient is receiving full medical attention and the family is also being provided all possible assistance by the High Commission," said the statement.

"At this stage, we would request that the privacy of the patient, family members as also of the medical team in attendance is fully respected so that the treatment may continue smoothly," it added.

The grievously injured physiotherapist was shifted out of Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital and flown in an air ambulance to Singapore's Mt Elizabeth Hospital that is renowned for organ transplants.

The decision was taken after her condition deteriorated, officials said. Her parents also accompanied her.

Admitted to the hospital Dec 16, the woman was operated upon thrice and had to have her small intestine removed due to extensive injuries following the brutal torture and sexual assault by five men and a juvenile who raped her in a moving bus.