TCM doctor suspended for prescribing powder containing poison

A traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioner has been suspended for 15 months by the Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners Board after he prescribed medicine containing a poison to a customer.

In a statement on Friday, the board said it had received a complaint from the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) about physician Yong Lin Swee.

Yong had prescribed and dispensed a brown herbal powder to a patient. However, the powder was found to contain clonazepam, which is a scheduled poison. He was charged in court in March and fined $2,000. Yong is a registered physician and acupuncturist at the Dah Kai Medical & Departmental Store in Parkway Parade.

His 15-month suspension started in April. The board also ordered him to pay all expenses related to the inquiry.

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