3rd GP fined over fraudulent declaration
Thursday, Mar 14, 2013
The Straits Times
By Elena Chong
SINGAPORE - A third doctor has been fined for making a fraudulent declaration that he was not involved in any active clinical practice after his practising certificate expired in October 2011.
Like the two other doctors last Thursday, Roy Chio Han Sin, 40, was fined $4,000 after he admitted to the offence at a district court on Monday.
In his letter of undertaking to the Singapore Medical Council (SMC) on Feb 7 last year, he stated that he had not been involved in any active clinical practice since Nov 1, 2011. But investigations showed that he had diagnosed and treated patients at his two clinics - Dr Chio Aesthetic and Laser Centre, and Famicare Bedok Clinic - on Bedok South Avenue 3 from Nov 1, 2011 to Feb 17 last year.
Chio, who has been in practice since October 2000, had not obtained the requisite 50 Continuing Medical Education (CME) points when his practising certificate expired.
As such, he could not renew his certificate.
He made up his shortfall of 26 CME points on Feb 1 last year, and applied to the SMC for a new practising certificate. In support of his renewal application, he had to write a letter of undertaking stating that he had not been in active clinic practice since the expiry of his practising certificate.
He was issued with a new practising certificate valid from Feb 20 last year to Oct 31 this year.
A second charge of practising medicine without a valid certificate was taken into consideration.
Lawyer S. Selvaraj said his client thought the time and effort he had spent as the president of the Anti-Ageing and Aesthetic Medicine Society of Singapore should be counted for CME points. He said Chio was also affected by personal troubles and problems that led to great stress and anxiety.
He could have been fined up to $10,000 and/or jailed for up to two years for making a fraudulent declaration to procure a practising certificate.
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