Amit Patel v Singapore Dental Council: Appeal on Professional Misconduct in Dentist Supervision

Dr. Amit Patel appealed to the General Division of the High Court against his conviction by a Disciplinary Committee (DC) of the Singapore Dental Council (the Council) for professional misconduct under the Dental Registration Act (DRA). The DC found Dr. Patel guilty of failing to supervise Dr. Low Ee Lyn, a conditionally registered dentist. Hoo Sheau Peng J dismissed Dr. Patel’s appeal against conviction but allowed his appeal against the orders, reducing the period of suspension and setting aside the penalty.

1. Case Overview

1.1 Court

General Division of the High Court of the Republic of Singapore

1.2 Outcome

Appeal against conviction dismissed; appeal against orders allowed in part.

1.3 Case Type

Regulatory

1.4 Judgment Type

Grounds of Decision

1.5 Jurisdiction

Singapore

1.6 Description

Dr. Amit Patel appeals a conviction for professional misconduct for failing to supervise a conditionally registered dentist. The appeal against conviction was dismissed, but the orders were varied.

1.7 Decision Date

23 July 2024

2. Parties and Outcomes

Party Name	Role	Type	Outcome	Outcome Type	Counsels
Amit Patel	Appellant	Individual	Appeal against conviction dismissed; appeal against orders allowed in part	Partial	N. Sreenivasan SC of K&L Gates Straits Law LLC Lim Min of K&L Gates Straits Law LLC Kamini Devadass of K&L Gates Straits Law LLC Lin Ming Khin of Charles Lin LLC Lim Wan Ting Tracia of Charles Lin LLC Poh Jia Wei Daniel of Charles Lin LLC
Singapore Dental Council	Respondent	Statutory Board	Appeal against conviction upheld; appeal against orders partially upheld	Partial	Kronenburg Edmund Jerome of Braddell Brothers LLP Chan Yu Jie of Braddell Brothers LLP Tan Qian Ni Roseanne of Braddell Brothers LLP Lim Ngee Tong Samuel of Braddell Brothers LLP

3. Judges

Judge Name	Title	Delivered Judgment
Hoo Sheau Peng	Judge	Yes

4. Counsels

Counsel Name	Organization
N. Sreenivasan SC	K&L Gates Straits Law LLC
Lim Min	K&L Gates Straits Law LLC
Kamini Devadass	K&L Gates Straits Law LLC
Lin Ming Khin	Charles Lin LLC
Lim Wan Ting Tracia	Charles Lin LLC
Poh Jia Wei Daniel	Charles Lin LLC
Kronenburg Edmund Jerome	Braddell Brothers LLP
Chan Yu Jie	Braddell Brothers LLP
Tan Qian Ni Roseanne	Braddell Brothers LLP
Lim Ngee Tong Samuel	Braddell Brothers LLP

4. Facts

Dr. Patel was a Division 1 dentist registered with the Singapore Dental Council.
Dr. Low was a dentist conditionally registered under s 14A of the DRA.
Dr. Patel was approved by the Council as Dr. Low’s supervisor.
Dr. Patel sent Dr. Low WhatsApp messages to "cover" him on 3 December 2016.
Dr. Low attended to five of Dr. Patel’s patients unsupervised on 3 December 2016.
Dr. Low treated patients unsupervised on 4, 9, 11 and 13 December 2016.
Dr. Patel was aware that Dr. Low was practising on these dates.

5. Formal Citations

Amit Patel v Singapore Dental Council, Originating Application No 775 of 2023, [2024] SGHC 188

6. Timeline

Date	Event
2015-08-01	Dr. Patel commenced work with the Malo Clinic Nuffield Dental Clinic (Serangoon Gardens).
2016-09-23	The Council approved Dr. Patel to act as Dr. Low’s supervisor.
2016-10-01	Dr. Low was hired by the Nuffield Group to work at the Clinic.
2016-12-03	Dr. Patel sent WhatsApp messages to Dr. Kumar and Dr. Low regarding his wife's labor contractions.
2016-12-03	Dr. Low attended to five of Dr. Patel’s patients unsupervised.
2016-12-04	Dr. Low treated patients unsupervised.
2016-12-06	Dr. Patel returned to the Clinic to see two patients.
2016-12-08	Dr. Patel returned to the Clinic to see one patient.
2016-12-09	Dr. Low treated patients unsupervised.
2016-12-11	Dr. Low treated patients unsupervised.
2016-12-12	Dr. Patel returned to the Clinic to see one patient.
2016-12-13	Dr. Low treated patients unsupervised.
2016-12-13	Dr. Chen carried out a routine inspection at the Clinic.
2017-05-02	A complaint was filed against Dr. Patel.
2017-05-05	A Notice of Complaint was sent to Dr. Patel.
2019-02-13	Dr. Patel was served with a formal Notice of Inquiry.
2023-06-26	The DC rendered its reasons.
2024-03-19	Judgment reserved.
2024-07-24	Judgment date.

7. Legal Issues

Professional Misconduct
- Outcome: The court found that Dr. Patel was guilty of intentional and deliberate professional misconduct beyond all reasonable doubt.
- Category: Substantive
- Sub-Issues:
  - Failure to supervise conditionally registered dentist
  - Breach of duties as supervisor
  - Intentional and deliberate departure from professional standards
Standard of Conduct for Supervisors
- Outcome: The court held that supervisors are responsible for ensuring that conditional registrants are supervised at all times while at work, but are not absolutely liable.
- Category: Substantive
- Sub-Issues:
  - Obligations of supervisors to ensure supervision of conditional registrants
  - Interpretation of Council's circulars
  - Duty to make arrangements for replacement supervisors
Sentencing Framework for Professional Misconduct
- Outcome: The court found that the Wong Meng Hang framework is applicable to the present case, but must be sensitive to differences in the offences.
- Category: Procedural
- Sub-Issues:
  - Applicability of Wong Meng Hang framework to dental disciplinary proceedings
  - Assessment of harm and culpability
  - Consideration of mitigating factors

8. Remedies Sought

Appeal against conviction
Appeal against orders (suspension and penalty)

9. Cause of Actions

Professional Misconduct
Failure to Supervise

10. Practice Areas

Disciplinary Proceedings
Professional Negligence

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	Cited for the appropriate sentencing framework to adopt in disciplinary cases involving serious professional misconduct.
Gobinathan Devathasan v Singapore Medical Council	High Court	Yes	[2010] 2 SLR 926	Singapore	Cited for the principle that the court will typically be slow to interfere with the findings of a disciplinary committee unless the committee’s findings are “unsafe, unreasonable or contrary to the evidence”.
Yeo Kwan Wee Kenneth v Public Prosecutor	High Court	Yes	[2004] 2 SLR(R) 45	Singapore	Cited for the principle that any testimony left unchallenged may be treated by the court as undisputed and therefore accepted by the opposing party.
Jen Shek Wei v Singapore Medical Council	High Court	Yes	[2018] 3 SLR 943	Singapore	Cited for the principle that if a medical practitioner knows of the applicable standard of conduct but chooses not to comply with it, such non-compliance is an intentional and deliberate departure from the applicable standard.
Low Cze Hong v Singapore Medical Council	High Court	Yes	[2008] 3 SLR(R)612	Singapore	Cited for the principle that the court will only interfere with a disciplinary committee’s decision on sentence if, inter alia, there is something clearly wrong with the legal principles applied, the findings are sufficiently out of tune with the evidence or the order imposed is manifestly excessive.
Mohamed Shouffee bin Adam v Public Prosecutor	High Court	Yes	[2014] 2 SLR 998	Singapore	Cited for the principle that the totality principle is a consideration that is applied at the end of the sentencing process to allow the court to take a last look at all the facts and circumstances to determine if the sentence is appropriate.
Ang Peng Tiam v Singapore Medical Council and another matter	High Court	Yes	[2017] 5 SLR 356	Singapore	Cited for the principle that little if any weight will be placed on the fact that the offender has had a long and unblemished record if the key sentencing objective is general deterrence.
Ong Kian Peng Julian v Singapore Medical Council and other matters	High Court	Yes	[2023] 3 SLR 1756	Singapore	Cited for the principle that the Wong Meng Hang framework can and should be extended to other forms of misconduct, but emphasised the importance of bearing in mind the nuances of each case.

13. Applicable Rules

Rule Name
No applicable rules

14. Applicable Statutes

Statute Name	Jurisdiction
Dental Registration Act 1999 (Cap 76, 2009 Rev Ed)	Singapore
Dental Registration Act 1999 (Cap 76, 2009 Rev Ed) s 40(1)(d)	Singapore
Dental Registration Act 1999 (Cap 76, 2009 Rev Ed) s 40(2)	Singapore
Dental Registration Act 1999 (Cap 76, 2009 Rev Ed) s 14A	Singapore
Rules of Court (Cap 322, 2021 Rev Ed) Order 20	Singapore
Medical Registration Act 1997 (Cap 174, 2014 Rev Ed)	Singapore
Medical Registration Act 1997 (Cap 174, 2014 Rev Ed) s 59D(2)	Singapore

15. Key Terms and Keywords

15.1 Key Terms

Conditional Registration
Supervision
Professional Misconduct
Disciplinary Committee
Dental Registration Act
Dental Registration Regulations
Supervisor
Supervisee

15.2 Keywords

Dentist
Dental Council
Professional Misconduct
Supervision
Conditional Registration
Singapore

17. Areas of Law

Area Name	Relevance Score
Dentistry and dental practice	90
Professional conduct	85
Disciplinary Proceedings	75
Medical Law	60
Legal Profession Act	40
Medical Malpractice	30

16. Subjects

Dentistry
Professional Ethics
Regulatory Compliance