<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>Surgeon's penalty
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- 4 or less paragraphs so show all paragraphs first before showing the media and bkstry and stuffs --><!-- story content : start --><!-- story content : start -->'The SMC censure is very weak, and the fine even more so.'
<!-- story content : start -->MR TERRY MALONE: 'I read yesterday's report ('Plastic surgeon fined, censured for cell therapy') with incredulity and astonishment. The fact that clinically untested treatment was carried out on gullible individuals is one thing, but more disappointing is the action taken by the Singapore Medical Council (SMC). The SMC censure is very weak, and the fine even more so, and do not in any way address the seriousness of the doctor's cavalier actions. Had this happened in Europe or the United States, a much sterner sentence would have been imposed. The accompanying report, 'Most animal-cell therapies of questionable value', referred to articles in prestigious publications such as The Lancet and the Journal of Neurology on possible dangerous reactions to these untested injections; that raises the question of where this leaves the reputation of the Singapore medical community's research capabilities. The SMC's slap on the wrist cannot have endeared Singapore's valiant efforts in the medical research field to the greater medical fraternity.'
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- 4 or less paragraphs so show all paragraphs first before showing the media and bkstry and stuffs --><!-- story content : start --><!-- story content : start -->'The SMC censure is very weak, and the fine even more so.'
<!-- story content : start -->MR TERRY MALONE: 'I read yesterday's report ('Plastic surgeon fined, censured for cell therapy') with incredulity and astonishment. The fact that clinically untested treatment was carried out on gullible individuals is one thing, but more disappointing is the action taken by the Singapore Medical Council (SMC). The SMC censure is very weak, and the fine even more so, and do not in any way address the seriousness of the doctor's cavalier actions. Had this happened in Europe or the United States, a much sterner sentence would have been imposed. The accompanying report, 'Most animal-cell therapies of questionable value', referred to articles in prestigious publications such as The Lancet and the Journal of Neurology on possible dangerous reactions to these untested injections; that raises the question of where this leaves the reputation of the Singapore medical community's research capabilities. The SMC's slap on the wrist cannot have endeared Singapore's valiant efforts in the medical research field to the greater medical fraternity.'
