CEO of clinics gets jail, fine for illegally supplying cough syrup and sleeping tablets for profit

SINGAPORE: Over 17 months, the chief executive officer of two local clinics ordered cough syrup and other substances which he sold to addicts for a total net profit of almost S$84,000.

His crimes came to a halt when his supplier noticed frequent orders for unusually high amounts of codeine cough preparations and sleeping tablets which were known to be open to abuse and reported it to the Health Sciences Authority (HSA).

Chan Weng Wah, 44, was sentenced to 48 weeks' jail and a fine of S$20,000 on Friday (Feb 4). He pleaded guilty to 19 charges of supplying health products wholesale without a valid wholesaler's licence, with another 38 charges taken into consideration.

The court heard that Chan was the chief executive of medical clinics Healthlink Medical and Healthgroup Medical, in charge of managing accounting, ordering medicines and test kits and conducting inventory checks.

Healthlink Medical provided health screening services for foreign workers, maids, construction workers and patient consultation services by a general practitioner.

Healthgroup Medical provided health screening services relating to cancer marker test kits and COVID-19 test kits.

Sometime in April 2018, a resident doctor at Healthlink Medical left the company. Chan took over the clinic's account with its licensed pharmaceutical company and supplier, Pan-Malayan Pharmaceuticals, presenting himself as a "Dr Lawrence Chan Weng Wah".

When Pan-Malayan agents asked if he was a qualified medical practitioner, Chan said he was not, but said he was an authorised person listed in the clinic licence issued by the Ministry of Health (MOH).

In July 2018, Chan borrowed S$15,000 from a person known only as Mr Ho, as he was facing financial difficulties. In return, he had to place orders under the guise of his two clinics for registered codeine cough preparation products and sleeping tablets from Pan-Malayan.

Mr Ho paid Chan between S$400 and S$500 per canister containing 3.8 litres of codeine cough preparations, inclusive of 10,000 free sleeping tablets.

Chan knew that the medication was for Mr Ho to supply to addicts in Yishun, the court heard.

Between July 2018 and December 2019, Chan supplied a total of 214 canisters of different cough syrups totalling 813 litres and 4,100 sleeping tablets to Mr Ho, mostly via the back door of Healthlink Medical.

On Dec 23, 2019, Pan-Malayan sent information to HSA's enforcement branch stating that Healthlink Medical and Healthgroup Medical were placing frequent orders for unusually high amounts of codeine cough preparations and sleeping tablets which were known to carry "a high potential of abuse".

The clinics were suspected of diverting these health products into the black market.

HSA and MOH conducted four joint inspections at both clinics in Veerasamy Road between July 2020 and September 2020.

Chan was found to have supplied the medicines to Mr Ho on 39 occasions despite knowing it was illegal, as he had borrowed S$15,000 from Mr Ho.

Chan made net profits estimated to be at least S$83,959.

The prosecution asked for 52 to 68 weeks' jail and a fine of S$20,000, saying Chan had persistently offended. There is also public interest in discouraging the illicit sale of cough syrup and sleeping tablets.

The judge found that Chan "wantonly abused his control of the clinics' accounts to order medical products for an illicit purpose, even while he did not have a licence".

His supply of sleeping tablets in the form of dormicum was especially serious, said District Judge Marvin Bay, as midazolam is a prescription-only medicine and is more tightly regulated.

Use of such tablets may lead to physical and psychological dependence, with such risk increasing with dosage and duration and being greater in people with histories of alcohol or drug abuse, said Judge Bay.

Chan himself has a previous conviction of drug consumption in 2004 and knew that his acts in supplying such medicines would perpetuate addiction and dependency among drug users, said the judge.