TCM physician suspended, fined for misdiagnosing pregnant 15-year-old

​A Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) physician has been suspended for three months and fined S$5,000 for misdiagnosing a 15-year-old girl who was pregnant.

The girl had missed her menstruation for five months when she consulted Wu Liping, a registered TCM practitioner and acupuncturist with Shenzhou Chinese Physician Clinic in Jurong East, according to a press release issued on Friday (Jun 10) by the TCM Practitioners Board.

Wu had misdiagnosed the patient’s condition as hormonal imbalance, when in fact, the patient was five months’ pregnant.

She then prescribed a TCM herbal medication which was meant to revitalise and strengthen blood flow, but which posed health risks to both the patient and her unborn child, the Board said.

“The diagnosis and TCM herbal medication prescribed and dispensed by Wu to the patient … was not an appropriate and/or generally accepted TCM treatment and fell short of the standard set out in the Ethical Code,” it added.

The physician had failed to exclude the possibility of pregnancy, or ask adequate basic questions about the patient’s condition. She had also failed to conduct an adequate clinic examination and medical history taking of the patient.

The patient’s father later lodged a complaint against Wu.

An investigation committee conducted an inquiry and Wu was found guilty of inter alia professional negligence.

For breaching the TCM Practitioners Act, Wu was suspended for three months starting from Jun 1, fined S$5,000 and issued with a notice of censure. She was also ordered to pay costs and expenses of or incidental to the inquiry hearing, investigation conducted and the action taken against her by the Board.