Wong Choo Wai was the owner of the Bedok Day & Night Clinic and the Jurong Day & Night Clinic at the time of the offences. - Photo: ST
SINGAPORE: A doctor who submitted more than 100 false claims linked to a government initiative and cheated the Ministry of Health (MOH) of more than S$11,000 in total was sentenced to seven months’ jail on Friday (Aug 30).
Wong Choo Wai, 53, has made full restitution.
His offences involved the Community Health Assist Scheme (Chas), aimed at helping patients receive subsidies for medical as well as dental treatments at participating general practitioner and dental clinics.
Before handing down the sentence, Principal District Judge Thian Yee Sze stressed that the case involved public funds, which must be protected as they are taken from taxpayers.
On June 14, Wong, the owner of the Bedok Day & Night Clinic and the Jurong Day & Night Clinic at the time of the offences, pleaded guilty to two cheating charges involving more than $7,000.
The Singaporean also pleaded guilty to one count of making false entries in his patients’ clinical records.
Five other charges, including those relating to the remaining amount, were considered during sentencing.
MOH rolled out Chas in 2000, with two polyclinic groups – SingHealth Polyclinics and National Healthcare Group Polyclinics – administering it on the ministry’s behalf.
On behalf of his Bedok clinic, Wong signed an agreement with SingHealth Polyclinics on Feb 15, 2012, to be part of Chas.
On June 15 that year, he signed a similar agreement with the National Healthcare Group Polyclinics on behalf of his Jurong clinic.
Under Chas, Wong’s clinics had to provide the subsidies to the patients upfront during their visits.
The clinics would then claim the subsidies on a reimbursement basis from MOH.
The subsidies were disbursed through the polyclinic groups.
As part of the initiative, participating clinics must submit their claims through an online portal known as eChas within a month from a patient’s visit.
The clinical and financial details of the claims must also be submitted.
These included information such as the patients’ personal data, the dates of visits, the types of conditions treated and the cost breakdown of the claims.
Deputy public prosecutors Ng Jean Ting and Louis Ngia stated in court documents that medical facilities did not have to include case notes, receipts and patient consent forms when they submitted their claims.
However, clinics that took part in Chas had to maintain accurate and complete clinical as well as financial records and supporting documents.
These must be presented to MOH Holdings (MOHH) – the appointed auditor by MOH for Chas claims – when MOHH performed audits of the claims that the clinics had submitted.
On at least 40 occasions in 2015, Wong used the eChas portal to submit false claims to MOH, which was duped into disbursing $1,755 to his Bedok clinic.
He had falsely claimed to have treated certain patients.
Wong committed similar offences on at least 76 occasions in 2016, and MOH was deceived into delivering $5,872.
On at least 21 occasions between August and December 2016, he also made false entries in his patients’ clinical records, recording that they had consulted him for certain medical ailments when, in fact, they had not.
The prosecutors said: “The accused... falsified these clinical records in order to conceal some of the false Chas claims he had submitted.”
Wong’s offences came to light following MOH audits in or around February 2017, and an MOH officer alerted the police the following month.
On Aug 30, DPP Ngia asked for Wong to be given between seven and nine months’ jail, adding that he had committed fraud against a public institution.
Defence lawyer Andre Jumabhoy, however, pleaded for his client to be given up to five months’ jail.
He said that Wong had contributed to society and was on the front line during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Wong’s bail has been set at $60,000 and he is expected to begin serving his sentence on Sept 2. - The Straits Times/ANN
