Dentist suspended, fined S$25,000 for making false claims
Dr Steven Ang Kiam Hau (left) of The Smile Division Dental Surgeons in Orchard.
SINGAPORE — To help his female patient cover the cost of four dental implants, a dentist submitted fraudulent claims for up to 22 implants and other dental procedures in 2014.
For his actions, Dr Steven Ang Kiam Hau of The Smile Division Dental Surgeons in Orchard has been suspended for a year and fined S$25,000 for submitting false Medisave claims, which resulted in withdrawals of S$22,100 from his patient's Medisave account.
In a statement issued on Wednesday (April 25), the Singapore Dental Council (SDC) said that this is "the first case involving deception to obtain unauthorised Medisave withdrawals".
A disciplinary inquiry by SDC earlier this month found that the female patient had first seen Dr Ang in August 2014.
At the time, he recommended four implants for her which would have cost S$22,100. Medisave would not have covered the total cost, so the female patient suggested that he made more claims against her husband's Medisave account to cover the difference.
As such, Dr Ang issued four letters of certifications over August and September 2014. In two of those forms, the patient's husband was falsely described as the patient who had received dental treatment.
He claimed to have performed 11 implants on her and 11 on her husband, but an audit by the Ministry of Health found no clinical notes to support his claim of having done 22 implants.
In his mitigation plea, Dr Ang said that he issued the false letters of certification because he had wanted to help his patient.
However, the disciplinary committee said even if the fraudulent claims were suggested by his patient, Dr Ang, "as an approved medical practitioner", had a "duty to explain to his patient" the limits of the permissible withdrawals and claimable treatments under the Medisave scheme.
He also had a duty "to counsel his patient on the necessity of alternative payments by the patient, apart from using CPF monies". However, the disciplinary committee noted that such actions were not taken.
Dr Ang pleaded guilty to all four charges of professional misconduct shortly before the hearing on April 4. His year-long suspension will start on May 11.
Justifying the suspension, the disciplinary committee said that Dr Ang did not plead guilty at the earliest opportunity. The committee also said that to impose a fine only would be "unduly lenient" and "will not achieve the deterrent effect that is necessary".
The disciplinary committee noted that the Medisave scheme "relies on the honesty and integrity of approved medical practitioners to make accurate and genuine claims" and, in this regard, dentists are "gatekeepers" of the Medisave scheme.
The committee found Dr Ang's conduct to be "dishonest" and highlighted that detecting fraudulent claims without audits by the Ministry of Health "is tedious and involves substantial resources".
Dr Ang was also ordered to pay the costs and expenses of the proceedings and those incidental to it.
Dr Ang is one of three dentists and a manager from The Smile Division group who are in the midst of criminal proceedings. They face charges for drawing nearly S$1 million from 29 patients' Medisave accounts through filing claims for non-existent surgeries.
Dr Ang faces 283 charges involving S$434,000 cheated from 14 of the patients.
