Tragic end for woman who traveled from Sweden for cosmetic surgery

Inger Jeanette Bengtsson (33), who traveled from Sweden to Istanbul after reaching an agreement with a company she found online that performs cosmetic surgery, underwent three cosmetic procedures at a private hospital. Bengtsson, a mother of one, was discharged after the surgeries and sent to a hotel. The family of Bengtsson, who passed away one day after the surgery, filed a complaint with the Küçükçekmece Chief Public Prosecutor's Office through their lawyers.

WHAT WAS LEFT BEHIND IN THE COMPLAINT PETITION

In the complaint petition submitted to the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office by the plaintiffs' lawyers, it was stated that Swedish citizen Bengtsson passed away on November 1, 2023, and the phrase "She has left behind an eight-year-old daughter, and a grieving father and mother" was included.

The petition stated that Johan Hakan Bengtsson is the victim's father and that he demands that those responsible for his daughter's death be identified and punished.

STATED THAT SHE CAME BY MAKING AN AGREEMENT WITH A COMPANY

In the petition, which noted that the victim underwent cosmetic plastic surgery at a private hospital in Istanbul on October 31, 2023, it was explained that the procedures performed were liposuction from the abdomen, buttock augmentation, and breast augmentation. It was also stated in the petition that the victim passed away 1 day after these surgeries. It was noted that Bengtsson had made an agreement with a company whose advertisements she saw on the internet to come to Turkey from Sweden for these surgeries and that she came to have the surgery after communicating with the company in question via WhatsApp.

STATED THAT SHE PAID IN CASH

It was also stated in the petition that when the victim arrived in Turkey, she paid 6,490 Euros in cash by hand in accordance with the agreement between her and the company. The petition noted that the cosmetic surgery company performed the victim's operations at a private hospital and subsequently placed her in a hotel located in Küçükçekmece in accordance with the agreement. In the petition, which stated that the victim died at this hotel, the phrase "The fact that the death occurred after three surgeries performed one day prior indicates that the cause of death was these surgeries or complications that developed subsequently" was included. The petition also noted that no records have been provided to date from the private hospital where the surgery was performed.

DEMAND FOR A PUBLIC PROSECUTION

In the complaint petition submitted to the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, it was requested that all documents and reports before and after the surgery be obtained, and that the identities of the doctors who performed the surgery and the discharge procedures be determined and their statements taken. It was also stated in the petition that a complaint was filed against the person or persons determined to be responsible for the death and that the opening of a public prosecution was requested for their punishment.


On the other hand, Lawyer Hasan Gürbüz, who made a statement regarding the incident, used the following expressions:

“In health tourism, which has been rapidly increasing in recent years, companies authorized by both the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Health bring people from abroad to Turkey for both aesthetic and health treatments. This young Swedish woman also contacts a company she saw on social media advertisements. Correspondence is made via WhatsApp. Then an agreement is reached and she comes to Turkey to have cosmetic operations. Breast, buttock augmentation, and abdominal liposuction are performed. The young woman is 63 kilograms; unfortunately, while liposuction should not be performed on someone under 90 kilograms, this is done to a 63-kilogram person. One of our problems here is this; they collected the money in cash. She brought the money with her in cash. This leads to it being off the books. Why do health tourism companies do this? They do it to avoid paying taxes. The health tourism company that brought our daughter from abroad to Turkey discharges her from the hospital after the surgery so as not to pay more money to the hospital. They take her to the hotel they have an agreement with. A few hours later, she passes away at the hotel. The woman's family did not come to Turkey. Because she has an 8-year-old daughter. This is a great trauma for this child. At the same time, it is a great trauma for her family. Her father is dealing with the issue with sensitivity. He says, ‘My daughter died, let others not die.’ If this work is to be done, let it be done under the name of health tourism by valuing human health. Everything is not money. ‘Let this be the last,’ he says. He said he is ready to do whatever is necessary for this. Journalists came here from Sweden to investigate this issue; the issue has become a matter of public concern in Sweden. Her family had concerns such as ‘We are foreigners, will our rights be protected in Turkey? Or will the incident be covered up?’ I told them that such a thing would not happen and that Turkey is a serious state of law. The date of the incident is the date the girl passed away, November 1, 2023. After the surgery, the health tourism company takes her to the hotel they have an agreement with. She passed away 1-2 hours later at the hotel” he stated.