Physician and clinic staff sentenced for unlawful aesthetic surgeries

The Court of Final Appeal (TUI) has upheld the sentences of a physician and seven other private clinic staff members, the Office of the President of TUI has noted in a press statement.

The case involved the performance of several plastic surgery procedures for aesthetic purposes, which neither the clinic nor the staff were licensed to conduct.

According to the TUI statement, citing findings from the court case, the clinic started operating on Feb. 27, 2013. From April 2013, the clinic began offering liposuction surgery and fat transplant breast augmentation services.

In 2015 and 2016, the clinic hired staff members to provide these services and administer anesthesia, despite none of the staff possessing the required licenses from the Health Bureau (SSM) to provide nursing services.

During the investigation, it was also discovered the clinic was concealing the conduct of unlicensed activities via forged documents and providing false information to the SSM.

After the SSM discovered the situation in September 2017, the clinic was ordered to suspend operations for 90 days. This suspension was extended Dec. 28 of the same year.

However, the physician continued to provide services at the same clinic in breach of the suspension order.

The Public Prosecutions Office (MP) filed charges against the eight defendants and the Criminal Court of the Court of First Instance (TJB) adjudicated the case.

The court found sufficient evidence that the eight defendants committed crimes of usurpation of duties as well as several other charges related to the delivery of forged documents, and providing false information to the SSM.

Based on the weight of evidence and witness testimony, the TJB found the physician guilty of crimes of usurpation of functions, forgery of documents and disobedience. The physician was sentenced to prison sentences of one year and three months, one year and six months, and six months, respectively for each crime.

The physician was suspended for three years upon the condition of paying a MOP200,000 contribution to the Macau government within six months from the date of the final ruling.

Other staff members were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 7 months to 1 year, and suspended for 2 years upon the condition of paying a MOP30,000 contribution to the Macau government within six months from the final ruling.