SINGAPORE — A medical practitioner has been fined S$5,000 and censured for allowing the print of a misleading advertisement, the Singapore Medical Council (SMC) announced today (Jan 6).

Dr David Tan Yew Weng, who practised at David Tan Medical Aesthetics at Ngee Ann Tower, was found guilty by a disciplinary tribunal of disreputable conduct under Section 53(1)(c) of the Medical Registration Act.

In an advertisement published in TODAY on July 29, 2010, Dr Tan described himself as the “medical director” of Avenza, a company that distributed the weight-loss product Reduze. However, Dr Tan was only a director in the firm. The disciplinary tribunal noted that the addition of the word “medical” may have given readers the impression that the product was safe for use, medically beneficial, and endorsed by a physician.

The case was brought up to the SMC’s attention by the Regulatory Compliance Division of the Ministry of Health on Dec 13 that year. During mitigation, Dr Tan’s counsel urged the disciplinary tribunal to consider that there has been no evidence of harm to the public by the advertisement or their consumption of Reduze.