MEDICAL FEE TO STUDENT

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 29067, 2 December 1959, Page 27

MEDICAL FEE TO STUDENT

Australia May Waive Debt (N.Z. Press Association— Copyright) CANBERRA, December 1. The Australian Minister of External Affairs (Mr Richard Casey) said last nght his Government might waive an £ABOO hospital debt owed it by a Singapore Chinese student. The student, Tony Lim, aged 24, a son of a toy shop proprietor, spent seven months in a Melbourne tuberculosis sanatorium last year. Treatment in sanatoria is free for permanent Australian residents. Mr Casey said in a statement that in view of what appeared to be the special circumstances of the case “I will see whether the question of repayment might—as an act of grace—be reviewed.” The student himself told reporters he would willingly pay the £BOO, but it would cause his family great hardship. “I have 14 brothers and sisters, all of them younger than myself, and to support me in Australia is difficult enough without any extra charges.” Mr Lim said he had believed the treatment would be free. “I would like to pay the account myself as a matter of principle, because the burdens of my parents are heavy enough, but unfortunately I can’t.’’ Mr Lim is studying architecture at the University of Melbourne.