A recently graduated nurse lied to police about her involvement in a botched breast procedure that killed a beauty clinic's owner because she was "shocked and scared", a Sydney court has heard.
Chinese woman Yueqiong Fu, 29, initially played down her role in the operating room when questioned by police after 35-year-old clinic owner Jean Huang went into cardiac arrest during the breast filler procedure in August.
Ms Huang was rushed from the Chippendale clinic to hospital where she died two days later.
Fu has since been charged with manslaughter, using poison to endanger life and hindering the police investigation.
At Fu's bail hearing in the NSW Supreme Court on Thursday Detective Sergeant Mark Peebles said Ms Huang's preliminary cause of death was an overdose of lignocaine, a local anaesthetic.
He said she was also found to have high levels of the painkiller tramadol in her system.
The detective said Fu, who appeared in court via video link, has admitted preparing bags of both drugs.
According to her police statement read out in court, Fu initially gave a false statement about what happened because she was "just a worker" at the Medi Beauty Laser and Contour Clinic.
"On one hand I was shocked and scared myself and I was afraid this might have serious consequences," she told police.
"On the other hand, I was afraid the company might blame me for it if I tell the truth."
Fu maintains the drugs were administered by her co-accused and fellow Chinese Jie Shao, who she believed was a qualified doctor.
Shao, who is also in custody, has been charged with manslaughter, causing reckless grievous bodily harm and using poison to endanger life.
Fu's lawyer, Gregory Smith SC, said his client had been asked to help in the "unusual" procedure and merely followed instructions.
"Really, the responsibility falls upon the doctor very heavily," he said.
The court head Fu, a registered nurse in China, had graduated from an Australian nursing course in May and started working as a beautician at the clinic, which does not specialise in breast augmentation.
Ms Huang was allegedly trying the breast filling procedure for the first time and asked her "doctor" friend Shao to perform the operation.
Crown prosecutor David Laird said Fu was the only person in the room who had a NSW qualification and she should have known the dangerous nature of anaesthetics.
"You can't just sit there and do something at somebody's request heedless of the risks entailed in that," Mr Laird said.
Fu's student visa has been cancelled, meaning she'll be detained at Villawood Immigration Detention Centre if she is granted bail.
Justice Geoff Bellew will deliver his decision on Friday.
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