Commending hospital's work

Thank you for publishing my opinion piece entitled SARS hit tests credibility of ASEAN and China in The Jakarta Post on May 3.

I would like to seek your understanding in publishing a correction in regards a paragraph in which the Post's editing has completely changed its meaning.

In the 17th paragraph it is written: "The lack of any caregiver assigned to treat SARS patients at Tan Tock Seng Hospital in Singapore becoming ill is a good example, since one- third of all SARS infections are estimated to have originated in the hospital environment."

The original text that I sent to the Post reads: "The zero cross infections among patients and caregivers in Tan Tock Seng Hospital in Singapore assigned to treat SARS patients is a good example to look at, since one-third of all SARS infections have been said to have originated in the hospital environment."

Reasons: I would like to stress that Tan Tock Seng Hospital in Singapore has done a remarkable job in preventing new infections between patients and doctors due to its vigilance and stringent preventive measures. This has prevented caregivers and patients from passing on SARS to one another in a hospital setting, which accounts for one-third of all SARS infections worldwide. That was what I wanted to convey in the particular paragraph.

It is a disservice to Singapore and Tan Tock Seng Hospital to say that the "lack of caregivers assigned to treat SARS patients at Tan Tock Seng Hospital in Singapore becoming ill is a good example" as your edited piece coveys. It tarnishes the good work that the hospital has been doing in containing SARS in Singapore. It puts Singapore in the bad light for something that is not true.

S. PUSHPANATHAN, Assistant Director, External Relations

ASEAN Secretariat, Jakarta