The 1st clinic doctor convicted under the PHFSA
posted in - Nation, - Palmdoc |According to the NST, Dr Basmullah Yusof has earned the dubious distinction of being the first person in the country to be convicted under the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998.
Dr Basmullah, 44, had been operating the Al-Hilal Medical Centre Sdn Bhd at No 55, Jalan 5/76B, Desa Pandan, off Jalan Kampung Pandan, since 1998. The father of eight, who was charged on Dec 13 last year, had pleaded guilty to committing the offence at the premises at 10pm on July 11 last year.
Sentencing was fixed for yesterday. Under the act, he was liable to a maximum fine of RM500,000.
In mitigation, Dr Basmullah, who was unrepresented, pleaded for leniency, saying he did not register his clinic as he wanted to sell it and that he was not the only person running the clinic.
“I have financial problems and I still have to pay RM7,000 for the clinic and RM10,000 in personal loan,” he said.
Sentencing was fixed for yesterday. Under the act, he was liable to a maximum fine of RM500,000.
Dr Basmullah said he had since moved to Putrajaya claiming it was cheaper to live there and that he had sold his car and was using a motorcycle.
This really sounds like a financially down and out GP. A search in the Malaysian Medical Register shows that Dr. Basmullah Yusof is a USM graduate, attained MMC registration in 1990 and as of 2008 still holds a valid APC. And yet,
DPP Norfiza Mohamed Noordin from the Health Ministry pressed for a deterrent sentence.
“Unlicensed clinics make it hard for the ministry to monitor them to ensure that they do not illegally sell drugs or conduct illegal abortions. This is to ensure public safety.
“Being busy and having financial problems are not excuses for not registering the clinic,” she said.
This is a qualified licensed medical practitioner but he had not registered his clinic under the draconian PHFSA. True, he broke the law but aren’t there any mitigating circumstances? Contrary to public perception, life as a GP now is very hard. Some doctors can’t even make it financially and go broke or quit practice altogether.
What happened?
Judge S.M. Komathy Suppiah fined Dr Basmullah RM120,000 or three months’ jail. At Press time, he had not paid the fine and was taken to the Kajang prison.
Medical practitioners in this country now face the wrath of pencil pushers who will not hesitate to fine or even jail those who do not comply with the PHFSA. I await the day to see a doctor who is jailed for not renovating his clinic to make sure his clinic toilet doors swing the right way or his ceiling is the “wrong height”.
When there are quacks, charlatans and bogus doctors running around the country, when there are tons of false advertising from the alternative health industry, don’t the authorities have better things to do?
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September 27th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
its a shame that when the lawyers can take to the street to walk the talk and unite to fight for what they believe…we doctors sit back and watch another fellow collegue fall prey to unjust judiciary system. Do u feel safe as a doctor…do u really feel like your rights are being looked after for when u go out on a limb to help a patient…u better think twice the next time u decided to do cpr on a helpless person on the side of the road. his family might just sue you for causeing an incidental pneumothorax or something.
SHAME ON US DOCTORS for letting the goverment recognise and derecognize medical univerisities based on their own monotary preference. THINK!!!!!!!!!!!
if we all stood together in unison and did not go to work for just ONE DAY on a MONDAY! what would happen to the country? the a&e depts of all htose gov and private hosp??
stand up for yourself, stand up for all of us and our right!!!!!!!!!!! not the pengarah hospital, nor the health minister who has almost most of the time been a non - medico (does that even make sense to anyone who is hearing this….of course the teachers get more pay rise than us la like this!!), no one looks out for us the way they should!!!
STAND UP, PICK A DATE…SPREAD THE WORD!! WE SHOULD REALLY DO SOMETHING ABOUT OUR RIGHTS AND FOR ONCE STOP MAKING FUN OF THE LAWYERS AND ACTUALLY LOOK IN THEIR DIRECTION AND AT LEAST TELL YOURSELVES YOU HAVE 1/10TH THE SELF DIGNITY AND PRIDE THOSE COURAGES PEOPLE HAVE!