AS A result of an oversight by lawyers for the Singapore Medical Council (SMC), a doctor in a disciplinary case unfairly received both a fine and a suspension.
Yet, in a similar earlier case, the SMC had only fined the other doctor, the Court of Appeal said.
This other case was apparently not brought to the SMC's notice by its lawyers from Harry Elias Partnership when Dr Paul Ho's case came up.
Yesterday, the three-judge court released the grounds for its decision to quash the three-month suspension order, following Dr Ho's appeal last October. But it upped his fine from $1,000 to $2,500.Last year, the council had meted out the suspension and fine to Dr Ho on 19 charges of professional misconduct.
It found he had 'failed to exercise due care' in managing patients and keeping proper records after prescribing Subutex, in the period before the drug was criminalised in August 2006.
Subutex was meant to help heroin addicts kick the habit but it came to be abused.
Dr Ho has been in practice for 26 years.
Taking issue with the SMC's lawyers, the court found it 'particularly disturbing' that they were remiss and added that they 'ought to have known better'.
The court made it clear that it had no issue with the SMC disciplinary committee's conduct of Dr Ho's case. Hence, it affirmed the guilty finding on Dr Ho on all 19 charges.
Doctors have an important and continuing duty to keep proper records, it said.
But the court agreed with Dr Ho's lawyers from Rajah & Tann that the three-month suspension was 'excessive' compared to the case of Dr John Heng, who was also found guilty in November 2006 of 19 counts of professional misconduct. Dr Heng had also prescribed Subutex.
But he was only fined $2,500 and was not suspended from practice.
'Like cases should be treated alike unless there are good reasons to depart from the applicable precedents,' wrote Justice V.K. Rajah, on the court's behalf.
He also noted that Dr Ho had an unblemished record, unlike Dr Heng, who had previously been suspended by the SMC for 18 months in 2004 for dispensing cough mixtures and sleeping pills 'too freely'.
When contacted yesterday, Dr Ho said: 'I am relieved that the matter is over and the High Court has allowed me to continue my medical practice without any disruption.'
The SMC said in a statement yesterday it maintains records of all previous decisions.
'Since May 2007, the SMC has instructed that for all future disciplinary inquiries, the prosecuting counsel will prepare a precedent chart.
'Any similar or differentiating circumstances to the case can be highlighted to the disciplinary committee... This will ensure that all relevant precedents will be brought to the attention of the DC.'
