A foreign doctor earned almost S$331,500 from illegally moonlighting as a locum (a stand-in doctor) in Singapore for around two-and-a-half years.

Queck Kian Kheng was sentenced to a fine of S$50,000 by the disciplinary tribunal of the Singapore Medical Council (SMC) on Dec. 28.

He was also fined S$70,000 in June 2021 by a district court for working as a self-employed foreigner without a valid work pass, according to a publicly-available decision.

Provided locum services at 25 clinics on 511 occasions

A fully registered medical practitioner since Jul. 6, 2014, Queck specialises in neurology at KK Queck Neurology Centre at Mount Alvernia Hospital, according to SMC’s official records.

His nationality was not disclosed in these records and SMC's decision.

At the time of the offences, Queck held an employment pass that allowed him to work as an associate consultant with Singapore Health Services, according to SMC’s decision.

Despite not possessing a valid work permit to do so, Queck provided locum services as a doctor at 25 different medical clinics on 511 separate occasions between Nov. 9, 2016, and May 1, 2019.

Foreign employees holding a Work Permit or S Pass are also completely barred from moonlighting, according to the Employment of Foreign Manpower (Work Passes) Regulations 2012.

Queck earned an additional income of about S$331,443.40 over two and a half years from these activities.

Previous fine of S$70,000

In 2021, Queck was handed three charges for practising medicine as a self-employed foreigner without a valid work permit, hence breaching the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act.

Due to these charges, he was sentenced to a fine of S$70,000 in June that year, following his conviction in the State Courts.

Subsequently, SMC brought a charge against him under the Medical Registration Act, handing him another charge of improper act or conduct that brought disrepute to the medical profession.

SMC said that there was no evidence to show that Queck had premeditated or intentional conduct.

More indifference than inadvertence: SMC

For the latest offence, Queck’s lawyers said their client had cooperated with investigations and voluntarily revealed all his engagements as a locum doctor.

They claimed that his commission of the offences was “not primarily profit-motivated”, but aimed to “improve his clinical skills and broaden his medical knowledge during his free time”.

They said that the offences had been committed due to his "honest omission and inadvertence" to check if his actions were illegal.

Upon knowing that he was committing these offences following Ministry of Manpower investigations, the lawyers explained that Queck took remedial measures by immediately discontinuing his locum practice.

Queck also applied for permanent residence, the lawyers added, which he later attained.

The purpose of his locum practice was to “further develop his diagnostic and treatment skills”, Queck told the tribunal.

However, the tribunal disagreed with Queck's lawyers and said that his actions went “beyond mere inadvertence and more towards indifference” due to the "prolonged period" when the offences were committed.

It also asked why Queck did not volunteer his medical services, if his actions were not mainly profit-driven.

Queck to be censured

While the SMC asked for a fine of S$50,000, Queck’s lawyers agreed on a fine but left the quantum to the tribunal.

Considering Queck’s earlier fine, SMC disciplinary tribunal sentenced him to an additional SS$50,000 fine, which the council claimed was “reasonable”.

The tribunal also ordered Queck to take the following measures:

• He would be censured.
• He would submit a written statement to SMC saying that he would not engage in such conduct again.
• He would pay the costs and expenses of the proceedings, including the costs of SMC’s counsel.

Top image from Pixabay.