Raid On Fake Fertility Clinic In Bangkok

[george]

Police, medical officials swoop on 'fertility' clinic

BANGKOK: Police and medical-registration officials on Monday raided an unauthorised "fertility clinic" in Bangkok after more than 40 patients said they received fake artificial inseminations.

The raid prompted the Medical Council to launch an urgent investigation into the clinic run by 73-year-old retired doctor Narathorn Thamabutra.

Medical Council president Dr Somsak Lolekha said the investigation revealed Narathorn was not an artificial-insemination expert but a retired doctor who used to work at a microbiology laboratory.

Narathorn was found by the Medical Registration Division to have run an unauthorised clinic and could face a three-year jail term and a Bt60,000 fine if prosecuted.

If he is found to have duped patients, his medical licence will likely be suspended, Somsak said.

Karuna Piswong, one of the complainants, said she paid Narathorn Bt110,000 to be inseminated but instead was injected 76 times with a substance which made her put on weight, giving her the impression she was pregnant.

Karuna said she only discovered she had been conned last week when she visited Thonburi Hospital to see why she was not feeling any labour pains, despite having reached her due date.

When Karuna rushed to see Narathorn at his clinic, he insisted she was pregnant, she said.

She said Narathorn then tried to tell her that the "foetus" had chromosomal abnormalities and could be treated with seven injections.

Karuna refused to have the shots and later found that more than 40 other patients of the doctor had been conned. One patient told Karuna she had experienced no labour pains despite being "inseminated'' 17 months prior, while another patient revealed she put on 36.5 kilograms but did not get pregnant.

It was then that they decided to file complaints with police.

--THE NATION 2003-12-10

[Dove]

This has made me wonder about the diagnosis and credibility of medical care in Thailand as I heard of many people who are diagnosed with cancer and the question is whether this people were really cured or were they wrongly diagnosed in the first place. I knew of a man who was diagnosed with one cancer after another but lived a very long time. Is there a medical board that review the medical profession in Thailand?

[meemiathai]

Bt110,000 x 40 = Bt4,400,000

And he could face Bt60,000 fine if prosecuted.

Isn't Bt60,000 a bit too harsh?