U Tint Lwin (Daniel, M69) wrote :

This morning (November 12, 2017) Ko Nyan Win Shwe, Ko Tin Aung Win and myself were glad to take Sayagyi to see his old friend from Rangoon University, Dr Myint Soe (DMS). They have known each other for more than 70 years.

In 1949, in their Intermediate B class. they both competed for Ho Wah Kain Gold medal, which was awarded to the best student of the year. Sayagyi stood 1st in the science stream while DMS stood 1st in the arts stream. However, since Sayagyi’s marks were higher, Sayagyi was awarded the Gold Medal.

DMS is a very famous and successful lawyer in Singapore. He specialises in medical related cases. One of his famous cases was for a Burmese lady who went for a stent insertion, normally a simple procedure, at the Mt Elizabeth Hospital. The initial quotation was S$15,000. During the operation there were some complications and the lady ended up in the hospital for more that a year and the final bill came to over S$500,000. Of course, the family couldn’t pay and the hospital sued them. DMS fought hard for the patient and won in the end. The family didn’t have to pay a single cent more that what the hospital quoted initially.

DMS’s grandfather, U Zan, from mother’s side, was also a great man. He was a procurement officer (ah wair daw) for our Burmese second last king, Min Don Min, All purchases for the palace had to go through him.Just imagine how powerful U Zan was during that time. The king conferred him a title, “Thu Htay Gyi”. U Zan relinquished his post when King Thibaw took over.