SINGAPORE: An acupuncturist has been stripped of his official status after three separate complaints were lodged against him, said the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Practitioners Board on Monday (Sep 24).
Goh Seng Ngei, whose main practice was at the World Medical Hall at Selegie Road, committed multiple offences including running an unlicenced massage establishment, the board said in a press release.
He lost his registration as an acupuncturist from Aug 7 after a series of complaints.
For the first complaint, Goh was charged with four counts of operating an unlicenced massage establishment in 2014. He was subsequently convicted of two of these counts in 2014, with the other two taken into consideration.
For that, he was fined S$1,600 by the State Courts.
The second complaint stated that Goh was charged with 57 counts of the same offence in 2017. He was later convicted of 24 of these counts in the same year, with the remaining 33 charges taken into consideration.
Goh was sentenced to a fine of S$24,000 for these offences in 2017.
The third complaint was that Goh did not declare his convictions when renewing his acupuncturist practising certificate in 2015 and 2017.
A committee was convened to investigate these complaints and concluded that the offences "implied a defect in character" and Goh was therefore "unfit to remain on the Register of the Board".
"Moreover, Mr Goh had been a repeat offender and appeared to be unrepentant," said the TCM Practitioners Board of the investigation committee's findings.
In light of Goh's convictions of running unlicenced massage parlours, the committee noted that he had breached the ethical guidelines for TCM practitioners.
"Mr Goh had associated himself professionally with businesses/individuals who were not qualified to provide TCM care or other accepted TCM support services," said the committee, adding that the unlicenced massage services offered by him were also not clearly separated from his TCM practice.
The committee added that despite the convictions, Goh had procured and/or attempted to procure a practising certificate by "knowingly making false or fraudulent declarations in writing".
The nature and "seriousness" of Goh's breaches led to the TCM Practitioners Board cancelling his registration as an acupuncturist.
"Mr Goh has also been directed to pay for all the costs and expenses of and incidental to the inquiry," said the board.
Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/new...ation-unlicenced-massage-parlour-tcm-10751780
