A 15-year-old girl found it strange when she missed her period for five months.
So she went to see a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) physician, who diagnosed it as a case of hormonal imbalance and gave her a medication meant to boost blood circulation to help regulate menstruation.
But the teenager was actually five months pregnant, discovered her father when he took her to see a doctor, reported Lianhe Wanbao and Shin Min News Daily.
Madam Wu Liping of Shenzhou Chinese Physician Clinic in Jurong West had been suspended for three months for making the wrong diagnosis, said the TCM Practitioners Board in a statement today (June 10).
She was also fined $5,000 and censured by the board.
Wu prescribed “taohong siwutang”, a herbal concoction “without any regard to her actual medical condition,” said the board, adding that it would have posed a danger to both the girl and her unborn child.
The concoction is made with four herbal ingredients as well as peach kernel and safflower.
The board noted that Wu failed to conduct a proper clinical examination of the patient. She also did not record her medical history, said the board.
chenj@sph.com.sg
