A DOCTOR'S fear of triads resulted in him performing his duties behind a plastic screen as would a bank teller, the Medical Council heard yesterday.
Dr Hwang Yuan-shang was struck off the medical register for 12 months after being found guilty on seven charges of issuing sick-leave certificates without examining patients.
Dr Hwang did not dispute the charges but his defence counsel, Selvyn Yu, asked that the doctor's fear of triad persecution be taken into account in sentencing.
'As you know, the premises of a medical doctor are very difficult to protect and the triads had tried to extort money from him,' Mr Yu said.
'As a result, he resorted to going behind the dispensary to conduct his consultations instead of doing it in his clinic.
'He was afraid that anyone that was capable of going into the clinic was capable of doing harm to him or the clinic, which is why he conducted his business from behind the dispensary window.
'He did this for prescriptions - it may be difficult to do a full examination but it doesn't prevent him from doing some type of consultation.' The Medical Council was alerted to Dr Hwang's practise by the principal of Lui Kwok Pat Fong College, Brian Shek Cheung-ming, who noticed a large number of certificates from him.