Doctor and 3 patients charged over selling cough mixture illegally

Doctor and 3 patients charged over selling cough mixture illegally
By Alvina Soh | Posted: 31 May 2012 1357 hrs

SINGAPORE: A doctor and three of his patients have been charged with illegally selling cough mixture containing the pain-relieving drug, codeine.

Dr Ho Thong Chew, 41, a registered doctor of Focus Medical Group in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1, was charged with 35 counts of contravening the Medicines Act on Thursday.

He allegedly sold 846 canisters of the codeine-laced cough syrup to three patients without a wholesale dealer's licence over five months from January 2011.

Each canister contained 3.8 litres of the mixture.

Dr Ho's case will be heard again on June 11.

The other three accused are Yap Beng Keong, 37; Ng Yong Yi, 30; and Ng Jin Jie, 28.

They were alleged to have sold the cough mixture which they bought from Dr Ho.

Yap, who faces nine charges, allegedly bought 424 canisters of the cough mixture from Dr Ho and sold them in Geylang and Yishun between January and March last year.

His case will be mentioned again on June 11.

Ng Yong Yi, who faces 14 charges, is said to have bought 374 canisters from Dr Ho and allegedly sold them in Geylang from February to May last year.

He will appear in court again on June 1.

Ng Jin Jie, who faces 11 counts, allegedly sold 48 canisters he bought from Dr Ho from his flat in Yishun, between March and May last year.

Ng told the court, through his lawyer, that he would plead guilty later on Thursday.

Under the Medicines Act, it is illegal to sell medicinal products without a wholesale dealer's licence.

Offenders can be jailed up to two years and fined a maximum of S$5,000.

- CNA/wm

Cough mixture hhmmmmm... Good old daze....

Last time geylang sell 8 bucks a bottle now dunno how much

GP charged for illegally selling cough syrup 'by the canister'

Friday, Jun 01, 2012
YourHealth, AsiaOne

SINGAPORE - A general practitioner was charged with selling a cough mixture by the canister to three men, who would then rebottle them for sale to codeine abusers.

The Straits Times reported that Ho Thong Chew, 41, allegedly sold two to five 3.8 litre canisters to each man every week.

He sold 424 canisters to Yap Beng Keong, 37; 374 to Ng Yong Yi, 30; and 48 to Ng Jin Jie, 29.

In total, the resident doctor at Focus Medical Group in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 sold more than 3,000 litres of Dhasedyl between January and May last year - enough to fill about 9,000 standard cans of soft drinks.

Dhasedyl is a prescription medicine, and cannot be sold in quantities exceeding 240ml to a single person at any one time or sold to the same person within four days.

The offence came to light when Health Sciences Authority officers discovered that the number of canisters of the cough syrup on the clinic premises did not add up.

About $80,000 was seized from Ho's home later.

Ho, who faces 35 charges, is believed to be the first doctor charged with the wholesale of a medical products.

His case will be heard on June 11.

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Man's case postponed for selling codeine-laced cough syrup
Posted: 21 June 2012 1740 hrs

SINGAPORE: A man charged with illegally selling codeine-laced cough syrup will be dealt with at a later date.

Ng Jin Jie, 28, had pleaded guilty to four counts of contravening the Medicines Act in May this year.

Ng had bought 48 canisters of codeine-laced cough syrup from his doctor, Ho Thong Chew, before re-bottling it and then selling it to codeine abusers.

He was supposed to be sentenced on Thursday but the case has been postponed to July 20.

Ng was initially charged with three others - Dr Ho, who sold him the cough mixture, and two other patients who also bought the mixtures.

The district judge said he would adjourn Ng's case until after Dr Ho, aged 41, was sentenced.

Dr Ho faces 35 counts of contravening the Medicines Act.

He allegedly sold 846 canisters of the cough syrup to his three patients without a wholesale dealer's licence.

He is expected in court on Friday.

Under the Medicines Act, it is illegal to sell medicinal products without a wholesale dealer's licence.

The maximum penalty is a jail term of up to two years and a fine of up to $5,000.

- CNA/de

Doctor found guilty of illegally selling codeine-laced cough mixture
Posted: 22 June 2012 1708 hrs



SINGAPORE: The doctor who was charged with illegally selling cough mixture laced with codeine was found guilty on Friday.

Forty-one-year-old Ho Thong Chew could be jailed up to two years and fined S$5,000 on each count.

The district judge has reserved sentencing.

Ho sold more than 800 canisters of the cough syrup to three of his patients.

Prosecution asked for between two and three months' jail for each of the proceeded charges.

They argued Ho had abused his position as a medical practitioner, blatantly disregarding public safety and the law, to reap a profit of more than S$266,800.

However, Ho's defence lawyer pointed out that Ho was pressured into committing the offences by cough mixture addicts, who drove his patients away.

Mr Choo added that Ho's clinic, Focus Medical Group in Ang Mo Kio, has been struggling to make ends meet.

During the court session, Ho, whose clinic has now been shut down by the Health Ministry, was seen crying in the dock.

In a one-page letter, Ho expressed remorse and revealed he has a disabled daughter who needs "total care and money for the rest of her life".

The father-of-two added that he has been suffering from depression "for a long time".

Ho is expected back in court on July 20.

- CNA/cc

lianbeng noted they ended up coughing up more than just phlegm...ahem!...ahem!...

Man jailed for selling cough mixture illegally
By Alvina Soh | Posted: 20 September 2012 1934 hrs



SINGAPORE: The last of the four men accused of illegally selling codeine-laced cough mixture was sentenced to 4 months' jail on Thursday.

Thirty-seven-year-old Yap Beng Keong, who profited S$39,600, was found guilty of three counts of contravening the Medicines Act.

He bought 424 canisters of codeine-laced cough syrup from his doctor, Ho Thong Chew, before re-bottling them to sell to codeine abusers in 2011.

On four occasions, 41-year-old Ho would even accompany Yap to Geylang to sell the syrup.

Ho was also taken to task for selling the syrup and was sentenced to seven-and-a-half months' jail and fined S$60,000 earlier this year.

Ho, who ran his own clinic, Focus Medical Group, sold more than 800 canisters to Yap and two other patients without a wholesale dealer's licence.

The father-of-two profited S$266,800 from the sales.

His offences came to light when the Health Sciences Authority was alerted to the large volume of codeine-based cough syrup bought by the clinic in 2011.

The clinic was later shut down by the Ministry of Health.

Two other men, who were also former patients of Ho, were sentenced previously.

In July, 28-year-old Ng Jin Jie was given 10 weeks' jail for selling 48 canisters of codeine-laced cough syrup.

Thirty-year-old Ng Yong Yi, who was also a runner for Yap, was sentenced to four months' jail.

Under the Medicines Act, it is illegal to sell medicinal products without a wholesale dealer's licence.

Offenders can be jailed up to two years and fined a maximum of S$5,000.