Materia Medica Malaysiana

Unlicensed 'Hospital' raided

The signboard reads ‘Chinese Acupuncture Treatment Centre’ but it is a different scene inside.

The acupuncture centre is actually a 12-bed hospital complete with a treatment room and a laboratory.

The centre, which is on the first floor of a three-storey building in Jalan 2/116D, off Jalan Kuchai Lama, was raided by the Federal Territory Health Department yesterday morning.

When the raiding party entered the premises, there were two patients being treated - one was on intravenous drips, while the other was seated on a bed.

There were a doctor and a nurse in the centre. Checks revealed that the doctor is a Chinese national who is not registered with the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC).

Enforcement officers from the department's pharmaceutical services division found that the centre is actually an unlicensed hospital.

The division's principal assistant director Ahmad Nozrin Taharin said the premises is not licensed as a hospital.

"Moreover, the doctor on duty is not registered with the MMC," he said.

Checks revealed that the doctor is from Beijing, China, and that most of the medicines prescribed were also from China.

The enforcement officers seized an assortment of medicines and 200 syringes.

In the midst of the raid, the owner of the centre, who is a certified doctor, arrived at the scene.

He was questioned by the enforcement officers.

The Malay Mail learnt that the centre had been kept under surveillance for about a month before the enforcers moved in yesterday morning.

"We are still investigating. All their records are in Chinese and we will have to get someone to translate them," Ahmad Nozrin said.

The owner is expected to be charged with selling drugs without a licence.