There seems to be double punishment for doctors who have committed a breach of the law.

A doctor who was sentenced to 30 weeks' jail in May 2019 for taking upskirt photos has now been suspended from practising medicine for 14 months (GP suspended for 14 months over upskirt photos, May 21).

It often is the case that when a doctor here is already punished once by the courts, the Singapore Medical Council then imposes another punishment for the same offence.

One wonders, even if the Singapore Medical Council considers otherwise, whether an offence committed outside of a clinic setting, and which is unrelated to medical practice, should be subject to double punishment.

The public has a right to demand the highest standards of moral character from their doctors, but handing down a second whammy to doctors who have committed the crime and done the time can seem manifestly unfair.

Yik Keng Yeong (Dr)