Traditional doctor 'used modern tools'

An unauthorised ultra-sound device, an X-ray machine and thousands of Western medical tablets were found at a Chinese medicine practitioner's premises after a raid, a court heard yesterday.

Western Court heard police raided the Science Research Acupoint Clinic in Sheung Wan on December 1 after a complaint and found the machines and about 4,000 antibiotic tablets and other drugs.

Chan Tung-choi, 60, who had run the centre since 1997, was charged with managing an unregistered clinic, possessing part one poisons and antibiotics without authorisation. He denied the three charges.

Clinics are exempt from registration if they only use Chinese treatments and patients are not led to believe the practitioner is qualified in modern methods.

Chan, who had studied Chinese medicine for more than 10 years, told the court the instruments were widely used in mainland and local hospitals with Chinese medicine sections. He was taught to use them at the University of Hong Kong, he added.

Chan said he had spent more than $300,000 on the machines to continue research on how to make Chinese medicine more scientific.