S’porean Asks To Use CPF Savings On Wife With Cancer; CPF Board Clarifies His Claim

S’porean Man Claims He Wasn’t Allowed To Use CPF Savings On Wife With Cancer, CPF Refutes Claims

Last Sunday (7 Jul), a video was uploaded on Lawyer M Ravi’s YouTube which showed a man appealing for the CPF board to allow him to use his CPF savings to pay for his wife’s cancer treatment.

The man also claimed that his wife had no choice but to seek treatment at a private hospital as public hospitals they went to had deemed her incurable.

You can watch the 9-min clip in full here.

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Nearly one week later, the CPF released a statement via their Facebook page, calling the information previously put out “misleading”.

Here‘s the statement in full.

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CPF Board allegedly denied man’s request to use his savings for wife’s treatment

According to the video, Mdm Sarojini was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2016.

Since then, their finances have been “drained” as a result of the treatment fees.

In an attempt to pay for Mdm Sarojini’s future treatments, his husband Mr Suriia Das requested for his CPF savings to be transferred to his wife’s Medisave account.

The CPF Board allegedly denied his request.

As a result, Mr Suriia had allegedly turned to moneylenders, family, friends, his company, and even a crowdfunding page for money.

Mdm Sarojini also revealed in the video that she’s currently seeking treatment at a private hospital as public ones like NUH had told her that she’s incurable.

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CPF Board said the claims were “misleading”

On Friday (12 Jul), the CPF Board (CPFB) issued a statement on their Facebook page claiming that the information shared earlier is “misleading”.

According to the post, Mdm Sarojini had sought treatment at Mount Elizabeth Hospital (MEH) and Parkway Cancer Centre (PCC) – both private institutions – since 2017.

She then visited NUH in 2018 for a second opinion.

After assessing her medical condition, medical staff at NUH deemed her cancer to be incurable — the same conclusion staff at MEH and PCC arrived at.

Despite being offered an open appointment date by NUH, the CPFB claimed that Mdm Sarojini chose to resume treatment at PCC, which is not subsidised by the government.

$510,000 paid out through insurance schemes

While Mdm Sarojini may have chosen to seek medical treatment at PCC, she has received significant payouts through various insurance schemes that have reduced her financial burden.

CPFB shared that to date, a total of $510,000 has been paid out by CPF-allowed insurance schemes. $34,000 has also been withdrawn from both Mdm Sarojini and Mr Surria’s CPF accounts.

In ending, the CPFB claims they empathise deeply with the couple’s predicament and added that subsidised care at NUH is still an option for Mdm Sarojini.

Hope Mdm Sarojini receives the medical care she needs

This incident highlights the importance of always taking one-sided stories with a pinch of salt because we never truly know what had happened until all parties have had their say.

Regardless of what happens here on, we hope Mdm Sarojini will receive the medical attention care that she requires, be it from a public or private hospital.

Featured image from YouTube.