A doctor in South Korea performed an abortion on the wrong woman after confusing her with someone else, police have said.
The unnamed woman was six weeks pregnant when she went to the clinic to receive what is believed to be nutritional supplements.
But both the doctor and the nurse failed to check who she was, giving her anaesthetic before the abortion.
Police confirmed they have launched an investigation into the blunder on August 7.
The clinic is based in the district of Gangseo, in the country's capital Seoul.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Vietnamese woman had been told she was pregnant the day of the incident.
She was prescribed a nutritional injection which she was told to receive in the delivery room of the clinic.
But in a mix-up of patient records, the nurse allegedly injected the woman with anaesthesia without confirming her identity.
The doctor then performed the abortion while the patient remained unaware. It is not clear what the method of abortion was, but it is thought it was surgical because the woman was given anaesthetic.
The next day, the woman reportedly returned to the hospital after experiencing bloody discharge, at which point it was revealed her unborn child had been aborted.
The Gangseo Police Station said Monday the doctor and a nurse are under investigation on suspicion of professional negligence resulting in injury.
They said: 'The doctor and nurse have acknowledged their fault.'
Abortion is illegal in South Korea under current laws which are due to change by December 31, 2020.
Doctors who perform an abortion are technically punishable by up to a year in prison, with exceptions for pregnancies due to rape or incest, or if the pregnancy is threatening the mother's life.
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An estimated 50,000 abortions were carried out in South Korea last year, according to the country's Health Ministry, but it is likely much higher, as many as one million.
It was revealed an investigation was being carried out in a hospital in Ireland after an abortion mix-up in March this year.
A perfectly healthy child was aborted at The National Maternity Hospital in Dublin for having a misdiagnosed 'fatal foetal abnormality'.
Reports said the parents were told at a scan over 15 weeks that their baby had Edwards Syndrome, a serious genetic condition which means the child is unlikely to live beyond the first few months of life.
The family’s solicitor, Caoimhe Haughey said to RTE: '[The parents] did not go into this clinic or into this hospital with a view to having a termination.
'They never brought up the word termination.'
Allegedly the parents were put under pressure to have the abortion, and were later 'utterly mentally and physically devastated' to find out from tests afterwards that their baby was in fact, healthy.
It is understood that the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (ROCG) have been approached regarding the possibility of conducting a review.
In Ireland, abortion is permitted during the first twelve weeks of pregnancy, and only later if the woman's health is at risk, or in the cases of a fatal foetal abnormality.
Abortions in England, Wales and Scotland are carried out by the end of the 24th week of pregnancy except if there are special circumstances.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
