Doctor who molested patient now fined S$3k for making false declaration
Reuters file photo
SINGAPORE — A veteran general practitioner currently serving a 10-month jail term for molesting a patient was today (Jan 12) fined another S$3,000 for making a false declaration to the Singapore Medical Council (SMC).
Winston Lee Siew Boon, 72, whose appeal against his conviction for two charges of molest was dismissed by the Apex court last November, pleaded guilty this morning to knowingly making a false declaration in his attempt to renew his practicing certificate. While filling out an application form on July 23, 2013, Lee concealed the fact that he had been embroiled in police investigations.
Pressing for a fine of S$4,000, a prosecutor from the Health Ministry (MOH) Andre Moses Tan said that while MOH “views the offence as a serious one”, Lee — who worked at Thong Hoe Clinic in Bukit Batok before he was imprisoned — is a registered medical practitioner and has been registered with the SMC since 1970.
“Other than submitting a fraudulent declaration that he had not been, since his last declaration, the subject of an inquiry or investigation by the police in Singapore, the defendant’s application for a renewal of his practising certificate had been in order,” Mr Tan said.
The SMC eventually processed and granted Lee a practising certificate on Aug 29 that year.
Pleading for a lower fine of between S$2,000 and S$3,000, defence lawyer Charles Lin said Lee’s false declaration was made out of a “momentary lapse of better judgment”, as he had believed that the molest case against him would be discontinued.
“Lee’s firm belief in his innocence, in addition to the substantial emotional distress he was facing at that time and the pending anticipation of the Attorney-General’s Chambers reply agreeing to his representations, led to a momentary lapse of judgment,” said Mr Lin, adding that Lee has had an “unblemished record of medical practice for the past 40 years”.
In imposing the fine, district judge Chay Yuen Fatt agreed with the prosecution that Lee’s false declaration was “less aggravated than other cases” that endangered professional confidence and public safety.
For attempting to procure his practising certificate by knowingly making a false declaration, Lee could have been fined up to S$10,000 and/or jailed up to two years.
