Mother loses court case over son`s death..


The mother of Michael White, 14, who drowned in a Sauna in May 2008, has lost her court battle to win compensation for her sons death.

Stephannie White sought damages from the sauna, one of the hospitals where her son was taken, and the national and provincial governments, claiming that they had contributed to her sons death.

"I have instructed (my lawyer) Mr. Hwang to completely investigate all possibilities for appeal, Ms. White said."

"I will stay in Korea as long as necessary. While I am in Korea I will work within the system to seek justice and restitution. Once I am no longer in Korea, I will no longer have to respect Koreas sensibilities on the delicacy of this issue."

Details of the courts decision were unavailable at the time of writing.

The case lasted more than a year, with sessions being dissolved and the court taking the unusual step of visiting the sauna to examine the scene of Michael Whites death.

Police had said about 15 people were in the mens area of the sauna at the time. However, none of them had come forward with information, and a sauna employee had seen White floating face down, but had not acted, assuming that he was conscious.

The circumstances surrounding the death of White, an American, attracted attention from the expat community because of the unusual nature of the event, and because of the court case that followed.

The case was unusual because investigations into deaths of expats are usually closed when the body is taken out of the country, meaning that cases involving expat deaths are not often brought to court.

(paulkerry@heraldm.com)