Homoeopathy is on the rise. People perceive it as a safe and natural alternative to the evils of modern medicine and pharmacology. What they usually ignore, is that homoeopathy is no better than a placebo, and Gloria Sam has paid the ultimate price.
Thomas and Manju Sam are an Indian-born couple living in Australia. Thomas Sam is a homoeopath, and when their baby daughter had eczema,
homoeopathic treatment was the way to go, or so they thought.
According to the
Daily Telegraph, the couple had been accused of negligence in caring for their 9-month old daughter Gloria days before she died in May 2002.
During a four-week trial before the Supreme Court, the jury heard 34 witnesses and saw a series of pictures that showed Gloria's decline in health from the time she developed eczema at four months, until her death when she was 9 months old.
The jury was told that the girl's rash was so bad when she was six months old, that her skin would weep and tear when her parents changed her clothing and nappies.
The Crown argued that Thomas and Manju were criminally negligent because they continued Gloria's treatment with homoeopathic products, instead of seeking conventional medical help.
During the girl's steady decline, the parents continued to treat their daughter with homoeopathic products, as advised by Sam's professional peers.
The Crown also accused Mr. Sam of not doing his duty of caring for Gloria as a patient, but Sam argues that he felt he was too close to his daughter to trust his own judgement and that he never had her as a patient, but instead followed the advice of his peers.
Mr. Sam told the police that he would "definitely" have sought conventional medical treatment if he had known how serious Gloria's condition was.
The 12-person jury has found both Mr. and Mrs. Sam guilty of manslaughter. They are now free on bail until they are sentenced next month.
