SINGAPORE – A doctor who falsely declared in electronic death certificates that he had inspected the bodies of three people when, in fact, he had not done so was struck off the rolls on July 6.
Sebastian Kwan Yann Haur, whose main business was issuing death certificates and did not run a clinic, was originally handed a three-year suspension in 2025 by the Singapore Medical Council (SMC) disciplinary tribunal.
He was found guilty of four charges of professional misconduct: three pertaining to his false declarations that he had examined the bodies of the deceased persons, and one pertaining to his certification of the cause of death of one of them without adequate clinical evidence.
SMC appealed to the Court of Three Judges, arguing that a striking-off was warranted as Kwan had acted dishonestly and had not shown remorse.
The court, comprising Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, Justice Tay Yong Kwang and Justice Hri Kumar Nair, agreed.
Menon said Kwan had shown dishonesty in making the false declarations, which had potentially dire consequences.
The Chief Justice added that Kwan’s willingness to issue such declarations and his attempt to trivialise his actions before the court suggested a defect in the doctor’s character.
By Kwan’s own account in court, he had been issuing death certificates for 30 years.
The court was told that he issued three or four death certificates a day, charging $250 for each.
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