From The NST

Doctor faces death penalty M. Hamzah Jamaludin KUANTAN, Apr 4: A doctor is staring at the death penalty for allegedly selling psychotropic pills to drug addicts. Archive Since 1991 The 40-year-old general practitioner was arrested in the compound of the Mentakab Hospital last night. Police found 100 pills on him and another 900 pills were discovered in his car. It is learnt that the doctor owns a private clinic in Bera, about 30km from Temerloh. State Anti-Narcotics Department chief Deputy Superintendent Abdul Razak Md Zin confirmed the arrest and said police had been trailing the doctor after they received a tip-off from the public. "He was caught red-handed while trying to sell the pills to a drug addict. He tried to escape, but our men nabbed him," he said. Abdul Razak said investigations showed that the doctor had been selling pills to drug addicts for between RM5 and RM8 each. Police are trying to establish how many clients he had and his areas of operation. The suspect is being held at the Temerloh district police lock-up and is expected to be charged with drug trafficking soon. He faces the mandatory death penalty if convicted.

The above event will hopefully send out a warning to other unscrupulous doctors. Undoubtedly there are many doctors practising unproven medicine and giving in to quackery. From the sale of dangerous drugs to the lucrative business of direct selling, doctors have often been enticed by its monetary returns. Perhaps we will never know the true extent of this menace but such doctors should be brought to justice for such blatant infringes on accepted medical practices and norms. The ultimate price for such irresponsible behaviour is the life of the patient.