PSP assistant sec-gen Ang Yong Guan won't contest GE after medical licence suspension for professional misconduct

Progress Singapore Party (PSP) assistant secretary-general Ang Yong Guan will not contest in the upcoming general election (GE) after his medical licence was suspended for three years on Feb. 5 for professional misconduct.

Ang, 70, a psychiatrist for more than 36 years, was found by a disciplinary tribunal to have issued his 50-year-old patient, Quek Kiat Song, numerous prescriptions which did not comply with treatment standards laid out in MOH guidelines.

Quek passed away days after Ang's last prescription and the case was brought before the courts.

On Feb. 5, Ang's suspension was handed down by the Court of Three Judges, who found him liable for three charges of professional misconduct.

A PSP spokesperson told Mothership that the party accepts the court's decision and has no further comment.

"Dr Ang Yong Guan has informed the party in January 2025 that when his current central executive committee (CEC) term ends next month, he will not seek re-election nor participate in the GE," the spokesperson said.

Patient died after he prescribed medication

According to court judgments, Ang, who runs his own clinic, Ang Yong Guan Psychiatry, started treating Quek on Feb. 8, 2010 for conditions such as insomnia, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety.

Over the period of Feb. 8, 2010 to Aug. 4, 2012, Ang was found to have issued numerous prescriptions which were "not in compliance with the standards of treatment set out in the Ministry of Health guidelines applicable to him".

On Jul. 31, 2012, Ang issued Quek antidepressants and insomnia medication at a level exceeding maximum dosage limits for the products.

Quek passed away on Aug. 4, 2012, a few days after Ang's last prescription.

An autopsy found that Quek died from multi-organ failure, and his body had elevated levels of various drugs prescribed by Ang.

After these findings were released, Quek's sister sued her insurers, who argued in court that Quek could have died from an intentional overdose.

However, the court of appeal found that Quek had probably taken his medication in their prescribed doses, noting that even if he had done so, the high dosages could have still led to his death.

After winning the case, Quek's sister filed a complaint to the Singapore Medical Council (SMC) in 2017 against Ang.

SMC pursued three charges of professional misconduct against Ang, but a disciplinary tribunal acquitted him and gave him a two-year suspension for lesser charges of failing to provide professional services of the quality reasonably expected of him.

Both Ang and SMC appealed against the decision, with Ang seeking to be acquitted of all charges.

Found guilty of professional misconduct

In May 2024, the Court of Three Judges overturned the tribunal’s decision, finding Ang guilty of professional misconduct.

The court noted that Ang, in departing from established standards of treatment, would have needed to explain why he chose to do so even though it carried "a real risk of death".

However, the court found that “the evidence did not even show that Dr Ang had applied his mind to these risks at the material time” and that Ang also failed to inform the patient of the relevant risks and obtain informed consent.

"It is simply not for a doctor to dice with the life of a patient on the patient’s behalf, especially where the risks inherent in a course of treatment are as significant as in the present case, no matter how well-intentioned or justifiable the doctor thinks that it is worth the gambit," said the court.

Additionally, the court noted that Ang's misconduct was aggravated by his position as a specialist and senior medical practitioner, which would cause greater harm to the profession.

The court imposed a three-year suspension of Ang's medical licence in a judgment dated Feb. 5.

Additionally, the court also upheld the disciplinary tribunal's orders for Ang to be censured, and for him to be required to give a written undertaking that he will refrain from similar conduct in future.

Ang's background

Ang previously served in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) for 23 years.

He was the chief psychiatrist of its Psychological Medicine Branch, attaining the rank of colonel, before he retired in 2003.

Ang subsequently contested in three separate general elections in 2011, 2014, and 2020 with the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), the now defunct-SingFirst, and PSP respectively.

In April 2023, Ang was appointed to PSP's central executive committee (CEC) as second assistant secretary general, for a two-year term ending March 2025.

Top image from PSP website/Paragon Medical website