Dr. Michael Yung home invasion, Adelaide: Top surgeon dies in hospital after being brutally beaten and stabbed by a gang of thugs during terrifying burglary of his $2 million home

A highly respected doctor has died in hospital after he was brutally beaten and stabbed by a gang of thugs during a terrifying home invasion.

Michael Yung, 61, was attacked at his $2 million home on James Street in Gilberton, north Adelaide, at 4.20am on Monday and was rushed to the Royal Adelaide Hospital where he underwent emergency surgery.

His family made the heartbreaking decision to withdraw his life support on Tuesday afternoon after doctors informed them that his injuries were ‘not survivable’.

Dr. Yung had suffered injuries to the chest, intestines and head, causing brain hemorrhages.

The eminent pediatrician’s death is the latest tragedy for his family after Kathryn Browne-Yung, his health policy expert wife, died suddenly in her sleep in March 2020.

Shortly after her death, Dr. created Yung a $5,000 scholarship to support indigenous medical students in the name of his “kind, thoughtful and intelligent” wife.

His family has requested that donations be made to the Kathryn Browne-Yung Scholarship Fund in lieu of flowers.

The perpetrators escaped arrest, despite a large-scale manhunt being launched on Monday. However, police are hopeful that arrests will be made in the near future as CCTV footage from the area continues to be investigated.

Chief Inspector Des Bray said the attackers were “most likely” behind a spate of attempted and completed car thefts and burglaries in some of Adelaide’s most affluent suburbs in the days and hours before Dr Yung was attacked.

These include the north-eastern suburbs of Gilberton, Walkerville, Medindie and Henley Beach, Fulham and Tennyson in the western beaches.

“There has been an escalation in recent days where we have seen these 15 violations committed by these people,” he told reporters.

Although the investigation is still in its early stages, Detective Bray said the gang had committed “an aggravated serious criminal offense and an extremely serious assault on (Dr. Yung).”

“We’re looking at that group to see if they’re involved, or if their friends, associates or people who live with them are involved,” he said.

‘We just have to see where the investigation takes us and not develop prejudice towards any particular type of perpetrator at this stage and keep an open mind.’

The investigation into the attack is being supported by Operation Mandrake, a crime squad set up in 2003 to investigate crimes committed by Indigenous youth.

Det Supt Bray said he was ‘confident’ the squad would ‘locate and arrest’ those responsible.

Dr Yung’s 30-year-old son, who lives in the house, was found unharmed but ‘distraught’ at the scene, according to Detective Bray.

“His son is a good man who had absolutely nothing to do with this,” he said.

‘Fortunately he was not the victim of the horrific attack Michael suffered.’

Gilberton residents had reported hearing screams in the early hours of Monday following a series of recent home burglaries.

CCTV footage from homes in neighboring suburbs shows five young people roaming the streets trying to break into townhouses.

Footage from one house, taken just before the attack, shows five people in tracksuits walking down the street before trying to break into the house.

One of the thugs, wearing gloves and what appears to be a Gucci bag, tries to unlock the front door before calmly walking away.

Three Gilberton residents, who asked to remain anonymous, said they had recently been victims of burglaries.

One resident reported that police were patrolling the area more frequently at night, while another said she had to install CCTV cameras after thieves jumped her fence and stole a bicycle.

Dr. Yung’s family, including his two sons, a brother and a sister, granted the doctor’s wish to have his organs donated as a final gift to medicine.

“He strongly believed in organ donation,” said a close friend of Dr. Yung The advertiser.

“He had advised dozens and dozens of families over the years on the benefits of organ donation.”

His youngest son was rushed home from a holiday in Thailand on Monday evening, while other interstate and international family members came to Dr Yung’s side in his final moments.

The former head of the pediatric intensive care unit at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Adelaide had practiced medicine for almost four decades.

His friends remember the “quintessential Aussie guy” as a loyal supporter of Hawthorne Football Club and a passionate cricket fan with a “laconic sense of humour”.

South Australian Prime Minister Peter Malinauskas went to X to offer his condolences to Dr. Yung, describing his death as an “absolute tragedy.”

“I know that the full resources of SAPOL are investigating this shocking crime.

“The state government stands ready to provide any additional resources necessary to assist in the investigation,” Prime Minister Malinauskas wrote.

Health Minister Chris Picton said it was “an immensely sad day that has left the entire SA Health family in shock and sadness”.

‘Dr. Michael Yung was an outstanding physician who dedicated his life to helping others, including caring for some of our state’s sickest and most vulnerable children,” Secretary Picton wrote on X.

Minister Picton and SA Health Chief Executive Dr Robyn Lawrence described Dr Yung as “a popular, respected and integral doctor” in a joint statement released on Tuesday.

“It is in these difficult times that we come together to support each other and we extend our deepest condolences to the Women’s and Children’s Health Network community – where the loss of Dr. Yung will be deeply felt,” the statement read.