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Singapore — The parents spent nearly S$6,000 to correct the eye condition of their twin daughters but it got worse for both of them, according to a report in zaobao.com.sg on Sunday (Dec 6).

They discover later that the clinic is under investigation by both the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) and the Ministry of Health (MOH).

In March, the parents of the 10-year-olds paid S$5,800 at an eye clinic called SLM Visioncare, which had said in its now-defunct website that its treatments could improve myopia naturally, without medication, procedures or injections.

However, one of the girls heard staff saying during one session that a machine that was supposed to be used for her treatment was not working.

After a few more sessions, their mother found that the eyesight of her daughter was not getting better. She then asked the clinic about the broken machine.

Shortly afterwards, the mother was told that her daughter’s eyesight had got better all of a sudden. However, as she had already begun to have doubts, the mother had the twins checked at the KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, where she found that  her daughter’s eyesight had actually worsened.

As it turns out, a number of people have gone to the authorities about SLM Visioncare.

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Last month, Today reported that the HSA was investigating the company for possible violations of the Health Products (Medical Devices) Regulations.

The MOH, meanwhile, received six complaints against SLM Visioncare.

One of the clinic’s claims on its site had been that the physiotherapy used on its patients helped “improve the blood circulation and elasticity” of the eye muscles, which would lead patients to recover from myopia with no side-effects. Furthermore, the company claimed that its treatments were “especially effective” for children from the ages of six to 16.

Myopia is one of the most common eye conditions in children and adults. And while there are treatments and management strategies that help patients with this condition, there is no cure for myopia.

Adults may opt for laser eye surgery to help correct myopia, but since children are still growing and their eyes are still developing, they are not given laser surgery.

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However, in response to the complaints against them, the owners of the clinic told Today  that in the three decades it operated in Taiwan, Hong Kong and China and in its four years in Singapore, almost no complaints were filed against it.

Today reported that two other parents have also spent thousands of dollars on the treatment of their children’s myopia. Mr Daniel Wang paid S$2,490 on his 10-year-old son’s treatment. However, a check-up at a public clinic showed that the boy’s eyesight had deteriorated.

A woman, who asked to be identified only by the initials CP, said she spent S$3,800 for a 60-session package for her six-year-old son, after which his eyesight had only worsened.

She filed a complaint about the clinic to the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case), which told Today it had received 11 such complaints from January to November this year. /TISG