Singapore HC increases jail term of 'quack' doc from India

The jail term was increased on an appeal by Singapore prosecutor who argued that the sentence was not in line with those hand down in the past. Last September, Kulandaivelu Padmanaban, 61, was sentenced by a district court to a week's jail and fined SGD 10,000 for practising medicine without a certificate and fined another SGD 6,000 for operating unlicensed medical clinic.

Justice V K Rajah agreed with the prosecutor, and noted that the "quack" doctor had operated for sometime in 'Little India', a predominantly Indian-goods shopping precinct off the Central Business District.

"The bogus doctors holds themselves out to be able to treat with Western medicines migrant workers who are unable to pay or unwilling to pay for qualified physicians," Rajah said.

Kulandaivelu was jailed for two months for running the medical clinic and three months for unauthorised practice of medicine, the Straits Times reported. The two sentences are to run concurrently. Kulandaivelu, who has been practicing medicine on social visits since 2005 and last year, was arrested on February 10, 2010.