Doctor submitted 116 false Chas claims, duping MOH into disbursing $7,600

SINGAPORE – A doctor submitted 116 false claims linked to a government initiative known as the Community Health Assist Scheme (Chas), and the Ministry of Health (MOH) later disbursed $7,627 to one of his clinics in Bedok.

Wong Choo Wai, the owner of the Bedok Day & Night Clinic and the Jurong Day & Night Clinic at the time of the offences, pleaded guilty to two cheating charges on June 14.

The 53-year-old Singaporean also pleaded guilty to one count of making false entries in his patients’ clinical records.

He committed the offences in 2015 and 2016. Five other charges for similar offences will be considered when he is sentenced in August.

In 2000, MOH rolled out Chas to help lower-income patients receive subsidies for medical and dental treatments at participating clinics.

Two polyclinic groups – SingHealth Polyclinics and National Healthcare Group Polyclinics – administered Chas on the ministry’s behalf.

On behalf of his Bedok clinic, Wong signed an agreement with SingHealth Polyclinics on Feb 15, 2012, to be part of Chas.

On June 15 that year, he also signed a similar agreement with the National Healthcare Group Polyclinics on behalf of his Jurong clinic.

Deputy public prosecutors Ng Jean Ting and Louis Ngia stated in court documents that under Chas, Wong’s clinics had to provide the subsidies to the patients upfront during their visits.

The clinics would then claim the subsidies on a reimbursement basis from MOH. The subsidies were disbursed through the polyclinic groups.

As part of the initiative, participating clinics must submit their claims through an online portal known as eChas within a month from a patient’s visit.

The clinics must also submit the clinical and financial details of the claims.

These included information such as the patients’ personal data, the dates of visit, the types of conditions treated and the cost breakdown of the claims.

The prosecution told the court that medical facilities did not have to submit case notes, receipts and patient consent forms when they submitted their claims.

However, clinics that took part in Chas had to maintain accurate and complete clinical as well as financial records as supporting documents.

These would be presented to MOH Holdings (MOHH) – the appointed auditor by MOH for Chas claims – when MOHH performed audits of the claims that the clinics had submitted.

The prosecutors said: “(Wong) understood the permissible scope of Chas claims. He was the only person in (his Jurong and Bedok clinics) to submit all the claims on behalf of the clinics in 2015 and 2016.”

On at least 40 occasions in 2015, he used the eChas portal to submit false claims to MOH, which was duped into disbursing $1,755 to his Bedok clinic.

He had falsely claimed to have treated certain patients.

Wong committed similar offences on at least 76 occasions in 2016 and MOH was deceived into delivering $5,872.

On at least 21 occasions between August and December 2016, he also made false entries in his patients’ clinical records, falsely recording that they had consulted him for certain medical ailments when, in fact, they had not.

The prosecutors said: “The accused... falsified these clinical records in order to conceal some of the false Chas claims he had submitted.

“The accused knew that he was obliged to maintain complete and accurate records, including patient clinic records, and financial records, and that he would be required to furnish these documents during MOHH’s audits.”

Wong’s offences came to light following MOHH audits in or around February 2017 and an MOH officer alerted the police the following month.