Doctor struck off register for forging prescription while under suspension
In its grounds of decision, the Singapore Medical Council’s disciplinary tribunal said that Dr Khoo Buk Kwong's offence warranted the striking off as it “reveals a character defect that would render (him) unsuitable for the medical profession”.
SINGAPORE — While suspended from practising medicine, general practitioner Khoo Buk Kwong forged a prescription for appetite suppression pills for his ex-wife.
This was the third time the 57-year-old had run into trouble with the law, prompting the authorities to strike him off the register of medical practitioners.
In its grounds of decision published on Thursday (Feb 28), the disciplinary tribunal of the Singapore Medical Council (SMC) said that his offence warranted the striking off as it “reveals a character defect that would render (him) unsuitable for the medical profession”.
The tribunal began disciplinary proceedings against Dr Khoo after he pleaded guilty to forgery at the State Courts on July 14, 2017. He was fined S$10,000.
Dr Khoo forged the prescription in December 2014 — about half a year after being suspended from medical practice for 12 months. He had been convicted in court for causing hurt to a police officer and selling cough mixtures containing codeine and promethazine with two accomplices.
During his time as a relief doctor at the Shenton Medical Jurong Point Clinic, Dr Khoo got hold of a name stamp bearing the name and registration number of another doctor without his consent or knowledge.
Using that stamp, he forged a prescription dated Dec 1, 2014 for 100 capsules of Duromine.
On Jan 9, 2015, he got three boxes of the pills with the prescription at a Unity pharmacy, before giving them to his ex-wife.
Another charge of forging another prescription around that day was taken into consideration for sentencing at the State Courts. He used the same doctor’s stamp to get a prescription for 700 assorted tablets, including paracetamol, and two tubes of dental paste.
In his statement to the police, Dr Khoo claimed that he could have easily backdated the prescription to June 2014, when he was still practising, and it would have been fine to stamp his own name on the prescription.
The SMC’s lawyers argued that this showed an “audacious sense of entitlement” and lack of remorse on Dr Khoo’s part. His “recalcitrant attitude” was “highly damaging to the reputation of the medical profession”, they said, as they sought to have Dr Khoo struck off the register.
Dr Khoo’s lawyer, Mr Amolat Singh, sought a fine or three-month suspension. He said that his client, who has been a qualified medical doctor since 1987, wanted to help his ex-wife cope with her weight management issues even though they were divorced.
However, being too embarrassed to approach his fellow doctors for a prescription of Duromine, he “acted out of sheer desperation”, Mr Singh added.
The SMC’s disciplinary tribunal agreed that Dr Khoo’s past criminal history, coupled with his conduct, was “so egregious that a striking off was the most appropriate order”. In addition, he did not appreciate the gravity of his wrongdoing or show remorse in his police statement.
“(He) plainly did not appreciate that such an action would likewise have been dishonest. The tribunal found this persistent lack of insight into what is proper or improper to be deeply troubling,” it added.
The tribunal also ordered Dr Khoo to pay the costs and expenses of the proceedings.
