By Jessica Jaganathan

A DOCTOR has been suspended from practice and fined for prescribing medication without examining or having a consultation with his patients.

Dr Ang Teo Kiang, who last operated a clinic at Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4, has been suspended for six months, fined $3,000 and censured by Singapore's medical watchdog.

The 69-year-old retired doctor pleaded guilty to 23 charges - based on events that took place from 1988 to 2003 - under the Medical Registration Act, following disciplinary hearings last month.

The Singapore Medical Council (SMC), the profession's watchdog, said in a statement yesterday that he had prescribed a range of medication, including sleeping pills like the highly addictive Dormicum, without consultation or medical examination of his patients.

In particular, he was rapped for prescribing benzodiazepines, the most commonly used class of sleeping aids here, too freely without exercising care or diligence.

Hence, the patients had become physically or psychologically dependent on the drugs, said the SMC.

A police report against Dr Ang was lodged with Bedok police station in September 2005. The matter was referred to the council for investigation two months later.

The Straits Times yesterday visited the Ang Mo Kio location where his clinic used to be, but it had been replaced by a cellphone shop. Residents and shopkeepers said Dr Ang had shut his clinic doors a few years ago, just after Sars struck, and had told them that he was retiring.

They described his clinic as being always crowded with patients.

Mr Peter Oh, director of Arrow Communication, which is now occupying the space where the Ang Clinic once stood, said he has not heard from the elderly doctor since taking over the space.

'He was a very nice man and people seemed to like him a lot,' said Mr Oh, 55.

It is not clear when Dr Ang had retired or if he has been practising elsewhere since he moved.

In the last five years, more than 20 doctors have been brought before the SMC for dispensing sleeping pills too liberally.

The Health Ministry released new rules last year governing how doctors should prescribe sleeping pills to address the problem of overprescription and addiction.

Doctors must now keep detailed records when they prescribe sleeping pills. These must indicate the dosage, duration of use, reasons for prescribing the pills and if there are any physical signs of illicit use.

They must also alert the ministry and the Central Narcotics Bureau if they suspect that a patient is abusing the use of sleeping pills. These drugs, when taken in excess, can cause addiction.

The current maximum penalty for doctors guilty of misconduct or negligence is a fine of $10,000 and a three-year suspension. The Ministry of Health is seeking to raise the fine to a maximum of $100,000 and to remove the cap on the period of suspension.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.