A doctor in Hong Kong has been jailed for six years over a fatal liposuction procedure that ended with the death of a 32-year-old dance instructor and new mum.

The victim’s daughter has only recently found out about the circumstances of her mother’s death and is said to be distraught and angry at the doctor.

The dance instructor, named as Josephine Lee Kar-ying, 32, lost her life after having a liposuction procedure, during which she was heavily sedated, according to local reports.

Dr Kwan reportedly removed fat from her back at the Regrowth Hair Transplant Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui, a cape on the tip of the Kowloon Peninsula in Hong Kong.

Dr Vanessa Kwan, 38, was jailed for six years by a court in Hong Kong on Monday 4th October over a fatal liposuction procedure that took place in 2014.

In August, the jury at her trial came to the verdict that the doctor had not taken enough care to ensure the woman’s safety and that this amounted to gross negligence which caused her death.

The court ruled that she failed to appoint a medically qualified professional such as an anaesthetist to administer the sedatives and monitor the patient’s condition, as stipulated in the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine’s rulebook.

The court also said that there was not enough oxygen supply during the liposuction procedure and that the doctor had failed to administer first aid and resuscitation attempts fast enough after the op went wrong.

The judge, Susana D’Almada Remedios, said during sentencing on Monday that the death was the result of the defendant’s failings from start to finish.

The judge also said that the doctor simply switched off the devices monitoring the patient’s vital signs after an alarm was triggered during the operation.

The judge added: “The defendant displayed a casual, carefree approach to this invasive procedure performed under deep sedation.”

The judge also said: “This was an abysmal failure of the duty of care incumbent on her and she showed such high disregard for the life and safety of Lee.”

Kwan’s lawyer, named in local media as Paul Leung Chiu-lam, argued that his client had performed liposuction successfully in over 80 instances, including once on the victim, who was also her friend.

However, the judge was not convinced.

The news site Asia One reported that the victim’s mother, with whom she founded her dance school, since closed the business down due to “a lasting and long bereavement”.

The victim’s boyfriend, unnamed, is reportedly surviving on government handouts.

And the victim’s young daughter, name and age not reported, but who was “just an infant” in 2014 when her mother died, has reportedly only recently found out the circumstances of her mother’s death and this has triggered “an upsurge of anger towards the doctor”.

Kwan is also facing civil claims as well as a hearing that could result in a ban from practising medicine.