Singapore Medical Council v Chua Shunjie: Medical Professional Misconduct & Disciplinary Proceedings

The Singapore Medical Council (SMC) appealed against the sentence imposed on Dr. Chua Shunjie by the Disciplinary Tribunal (DT) for professional misconduct under the Medical Registration Act. Dr. Chua pleaded guilty to charges including breach of patient confidentiality and publishing inaccurate statements. The High Court, comprising Sundaresh Menon CJ, Tay Yong Kwang JA, and Belinda Ang Saw Ean J, considered whether disciplinary proceedings could be brought against provisionally registered doctors after their registration expires and the appropriate sanction for dishonesty. The court allowed the appeal and ordered Dr. Chua to be struck off the Register of Provisionally Registered Medical Practitioners.

1. Case Overview

1.1 Court

High Court of the Republic of Singapore

1.2 Outcome

Appeal Allowed

1.3 Case Type

Regulatory

1.4 Judgment Type

Grounds of Decision

1.5 Jurisdiction

Singapore

1.6 Description

Appeal regarding disciplinary proceedings against Dr. Chua for professional misconduct, including breach of confidentiality and false statements. The court allowed the appeal and ordered Dr. Chua to be struck off the register.

1.7 Decision Date

3 November 2020

2. Parties and Outcomes

Party Name	Role	Type	Outcome	Outcome Type	Counsels
Singapore Medical Council	Appellant	Statutory Board	Appeal Allowed	Won	Tan Qian Ni Roseanne of Braddell Brothers LLP Ho Mingjie Kevin of Braddell Brothers LLP
Chua Shunjie	Respondent	Individual	Order to be struck off the RPRMP	Lost	Tay Wei Loong Julian of Lee & Lee Kee Shu’en Theodora of Lee & Lee

3. Judges

Judge Name	Title	Delivered Judgment
Sundaresh Menon	Chief Justice	Yes
Tay Yong Kwang	Justice of the Court of Appeal	No
Belinda Ang Saw Ean	Judge	No

4. Counsels

Counsel Name	Organization
Tan Qian Ni Roseanne	Braddell Brothers LLP
Ho Mingjie Kevin	Braddell Brothers LLP
Tay Wei Loong Julian	Lee & Lee
Kee Shu’en Theodora	Lee & Lee

4. Facts

Dr. Chua was granted provisional registration by the SMC on 1 July 2015.
A patient complained about Dr. Chua issuing an extended medical certificate without assessment.
Dr. Chua provided the patient's employer with confidential medical information without consent.
Dr. Chua made inaccurate claims of affiliation with the National Skin Centre and Singapore General Hospital.
Dr. Chua falsely claimed co-authors in submissions to academic publications.
The Disciplinary Tribunal initially rejected Dr. Chua's objection to its jurisdiction.
Dr. Chua pleaded guilty to four charges and consented to two charges being considered for sentencing.

5. Formal Citations

Singapore Medical Council v Chua Shunjie, Originating Summons No 3 of 2020, [2020] SGHC 239

6. Timeline

Date	Event
2015-07-01	Dr. Chua granted provisional registration by the SMC.
2015-08-16	Dr. Chua submitted a research letter to the British Journal of Dermatology.
2015-08-01	Dr. Chua submitted a clinical letter to the Journal der Deutschen Dermatologischen Gesellschaft.
2015-09-01	Dr. Chua submitted a letter to the Obstetrics & Gynecology Journal.
2015-10-28	Dr. Chua made an application to the Centralised Institutional Review Board.
2016-03-01	Clinical letter published in the Journal der Deutschen Dermatologischen Gesellschaft.
2016-01-01	Letter published in the Obstetrics & Gynecology Journal.
2016-04-27	Incident involving Dr. Chua and a patient at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital.
2016-05-20	Dr. Chua temporarily suspended from clinical duties.
2016-05-25	Formal complaint filed against Dr. Chua with the SMC's Complaints Panel.
2016-08-05	Dr. Chua's provisional registration extended by four months.
2016-12-05	Dr. Chua furnished a written explanation in response to the complaint.
2016-12-01	Dr. Chua completed his housemanship.
2017-08-31	Complaints Committee conveyed its decision to Dr. Chua.
2019-02-26	Notice of Inquiry setting out six charges under s 53(1)(d) of the MRA issued.
2019-06-01	Inquiry before the Disciplinary Tribunal took place.
2019-11-01	Inquiry before the Disciplinary Tribunal took place.
2020-08-18	Judgment reserved.
2020-11-04	Judgment delivered.

7. Legal Issues

Jurisdiction of Disciplinary Tribunal
- Outcome: The court held that the Disciplinary Tribunal only has jurisdiction over individuals who are registered medical practitioners at the time of the inquiry.
- Category: Jurisdictional
- Sub-Issues:
  - Expiration of provisional registration
  - Definition of registered medical practitioner
Breach of Patient Confidentiality
- Outcome: The court found that the confidentiality charge did not, on its own, justify a striking off order.
- Category: Substantive
- Sub-Issues:
  - Disclosure of patient information without consent
Dishonesty and Misrepresentation
- Outcome: The court found that the false information charges involved dishonesty and warranted a striking off order.
- Category: Substantive
- Sub-Issues:
  - False statements of affiliation
  - Invention of fictitious co-authors
- Related Cases:
  - [2019] 3 SLR 526
Sentencing Principles in Disciplinary Cases
- Outcome: The court clarified the application of sentencing principles, emphasizing public interest and deterrence, and found that the mitigating factors did not outweigh the seriousness of the misconduct.
- Category: Procedural
- Sub-Issues:
  - Relevance of mitigating factors
  - Impact of delay in proceedings
- Related Cases:
  - [2019] 3 SLR 526

8. Remedies Sought

Striking off order
Suspension
Censure
Undertaking to abstain from similar conduct
Payment of costs and expenses

9. Cause of Actions

Professional Misconduct
Breach of Medical Confidentiality
Provision of Inaccurate Information

10. Practice Areas

Healthcare Regulation
Disciplinary Proceedings

11. Industries

Healthcare

12. Cited Cases

Case Name	Court	Affirmed	Citation	Jurisdiction	Significance
Wong Meng Hang v Singapore Medical Council and other matters	High Court	Yes	[2019] 3 SLR 526	Singapore	Established the analytical framework for sentencing in cases concerning professional misconduct involving dishonesty.
Tan Cheng Bock v Attorney-General	Court of Appeal	Yes	[2017] 2 SLR 850	Singapore	Cited for the principle that interpreting a statute purposively cannot become an excuse for rewriting it.
Law Society of Singapore v Choy Chee Yean	High Court	Yes	[2010] 3 SLR 560	Singapore	Cited for the principle that dishonesty occurring outside the strict confines of legal practice is not treated as being less serious.
Law Society of Singapore v Ravi s/o Madasamy	Court of Three Judges	Yes	[2016] 5 SLR 1141	Singapore	Cited for the principle that mitigating factors carry less weight in legal disciplinary proceedings than in criminal proceedings.
Law Society of Singapore v Kurubalan s/o Manickam Rengaraju	High Court	Yes	[2013] 4 SLR 91	Singapore	Cited for the principle that mitigating factors carry less weight in legal disciplinary proceedings than in criminal proceedings.
Ang Peng Tiam v Singapore Medical Council	High Court	Yes	[2017] 5 SLR 356	Singapore	Cited for the principle that public interest considerations are paramount in medical disciplinary proceedings.
Jen Shek Wei v Singapore Medical Council	High Court	Yes	[2018] 3 SLR 943	Singapore	Cited to show an example of inordinate delay in medical disciplinary proceedings.
Lam Kwok Tai Leslie v Singapore Medical Council	High Court	Yes	[2017] 5 SLR 1168	Singapore	Cited to show an example of inordinate delay in medical disciplinary proceedings.
Public Prosecutor v BDB	High Court	Yes	[2018] 1 SLR 127	Singapore	Cited for the principle that personal hardships faced by accused persons will rarely have any mitigating value in criminal proceedings.

13. Applicable Rules

Rule Name
No applicable rules

14. Applicable Statutes

Statute Name	Jurisdiction
Medical Registration Act (Cap 174, 2014 Rev Ed) s 53(1)(d)	Singapore
Medical Registration Act (Cap 174, 2014 Rev Ed) s 24	Singapore
Medical Registration Act (Cap 174, 2014 Rev Ed) s 32(1)(cb)	Singapore
Medical Registration Act s 53(1)	Singapore
Medical Registration Act s 53(2)	Singapore
Medical Registration Act s 13	Singapore
Medical Registration Act s 24(2A)	Singapore
Medical Registration Act s 39	Singapore
Medical Registration Act s 2	Singapore
Medical Registration Act s 37A(3)	Singapore
Medical Registration Act s 31	Singapore
Medical Registration Act s 32(1)	Singapore
Medical Registration Act s 58(2)	Singapore
Medical Registration Act s 56	Singapore
Medical Registration Act s 59B	Singapore
Medical Registration Act s 21	Singapore
Medical Registration Act s 28(3)	Singapore
Medical Registration Act s 28(5)	Singapore
Medical Registration Act s 39(2)	Singapore

15. Key Terms and Keywords

15.1 Key Terms

Provisional Registration
Disciplinary Tribunal
Medical Confidentiality
False Information
Professional Misconduct
Striking Off Order
Ethical Code and Ethical Guidelines
Registered Medical Practitioner
Register of Provisionally Registered Medical Practitioners
Complaints Committee
Seamless Dermatology Training Programme

15.2 Keywords

Medical profession
Professional misconduct
Disciplinary proceedings
Provisional registration
Singapore Medical Council
Breach of confidentiality
False information
Striking off

17. Areas of Law

Area Name	Relevance Score
Professional conduct	90
Medical Registration Act	80
Disciplinary Proceedings (Medical)	75
Patient Confidentiality	70
Breach of Professional Ethics	60
Medical Negligence	50
Medical Malpractice	40

16. Subjects

Medical Law
Professional Regulation
Disciplinary Proceedings