PUBLISHED ONInvalid Date Invalid Date
Aesthetic doctor Low Chai Ling told the Ministry of Health (MOH) that investigations into her practice could have started because of professional jealousy by doctors with competing practices.
In one of her correspondences between herself and MOH, Dr Low suggested this after the ministry wrote to her in September 2007 and drew her attention to ethical guidelines about untested treatments.
The founder of aesthetic chain The Sloane Clinic had been found guilty of breaching ethical guidelines in Singapore Medical Council (SMC) disciplinary proceedings in December last year.
She had allegedly provided treatments which had not been substantiated by scientific research up until September 2007.
However, she was cleared of professional misconduct charges today by the Court of Appeal.
According to The Straits Times, the Court of Appeal said there were no official standards for the practice of aesthetic medicine during the period stated in the charges against Dr Low.
Hence, it would be "unjust" to impose on her the regulatory aesthetic medicine standards which are used today, Justice V.K. Rajah said.
These standards were first established in July 2008 and then updated in October 2008.
The court also found that Dr Low was not being defiant when she continued offering treatment after the Ministry of Health (Ministry of Health) contacted her. There were no clear directives from MOH or SMC informing her to stop.
paullim@sph.com.sg