Former director of Ren Ci Hospital, Dr Kwan Kah Yee, has been struck of the Register of Medical Practitioners for wrongly certifying the cause of death on numerous occasions.
He had wrongfully certified the cause of death of an individual for four times in total. His first offence was in 2009, his second was in 2010, his third was in 2013 and the latest case was in May last year. Due to his actions he was fined and suspended.
In May last year, he pleaded guilty again for wrongfully certifying the cause of death once again. He claimed that a police officer had handed him a report from the National University Hospital stating that the deceased had been treated for a ischaemic heart disease. But investigations proved otherwise as there had been no such report nor had the person been treated at NUH.
Dr Kwan then stated that the mother informed him that the decease had had a non-specific weakness, which he said supported his diagnosis. But the disciplinary tribunal did not accept this, as Dr Kwan had earlier written that the mother had “incoherent speech and medical condition of vascular dementia”.
The tribunal said that a doctor should obtain clinical and medical information to verify the cause of death, or refer the case to a coroner if there is insufficient information.
“The issuance of false death certificate is a very grave breach of a doctor’s ethical and professional duties,” it said, adding that such behaviour is sufficiently egregious to amount to professional misconduct.