Singapore — It was only Sunday that the Ministry of Health made public that it was investigating a doctor, Jipson Quah, whom it accused of faking vaccination records for people who did not actually get vaccinated.
MOH said then that Quah, 33, was being referred to the Singapore Medical Council for further investigation.
That was just the beginning of the doctor’s legal troubles.
CNA reports that the doctor was charged at first with one count of engaging in a conspiracy to cheat MOH along with his assistant, Thomas Chua Cheng Soon, and a patient identified as Mehrajunnisha.
Quah allegedly stated the patient had been given a Sinopharm vaccine, knowing that this was untrue. But since Quah attested to the vaccine, a certificate of vaccination for Mehrajunnisha was given by the ministry.
On this first charge, the maximum punishment is three years’ jail and a fine.
However, by Tuesday, this charge was replaced with a more serious one.
He now faces a charge of conspiring with Chua and Mehrajunnisha to make a false representation to MOH. The maximum penalty possible is a jail term of 20 years and a fine.
CNA quotes Deputy Public Prosecutor Samuel Yap as saying that the new charge “essentially alleges that Quah, along with two other persons, conspired to defraud MOH by essentially falsely vaccinating certain patients and altering (MOH) records”.
On the same day, Quah was placed on leave by Thermo Fisher Scientific, a pharmaceutical firm based in Waltham, Massachusetts. He has been a Director for Labs at PPD Global Central Laboratories (Singapore), part of Thermo Fisher Scientific analytical services Ddvision since last year.
Thermo Fisher Scientific told The Straits Times that “Dr Quah has been placed on leave while we review the allegations,” adding that these allegations do not involve his role within the company.
ST reported that Thermo Fisher has supplied Covid-19 tests to Singapore.
Ms Iris Koh, the founder of the group Healing the Divide, was arrested on Sunday (Jan 23), together with Quah and Chua.
This group was the subject of a public warning MOH issued last October, saying that the group “adopts an anti-vaccination stance and claims to warn people about the dangers of vaccination”.
MOH said in a statement that Wan Medical Clinic, where Quah works, allegedly partnered with Ms Koh in offering “remote” Antigen Rapid Test (ART) Pre-Event Testing for its members.
“Wan Medical Clinic was found to have allowed individuals to allegedly submit to the clinic pre-recorded videos and/ or photos purporting to show that they had performed ART PET on themselves. The clinic then uploaded the negative ART results for these individuals,” said MOH, adding that an anonymous source had revealed this to the ministry.
Four clinics with connections to Quah – Wan Medical Clinic, Mayfair Medical Clinic, Mayfair Medical Clinic (Yishun Chong Pang), and Ong Clinic & Surgery (Yishun) – have been served notices of intention of suspension. Their ability to approve ART (antigen rapid test) has also been revoked, MOH added. /TISG
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‘Crazy auntie finally gets caught’ — Netizens react to the arrest of Iris Koh