Veteran doctor suspended from practice for prescribing hormones to patients who didn’t need them

A doctor with over 40 years of experience and several past convictions inappropriately prescribed hormone replacement therapies (HRT) to 18 patients, despite them having normal hormone levels and not showing symptoms that warranted the therapies.

The Singapore Medical Council (SMC) brought Dr Wong Yoke Meng before a disciplinary tribunal, which found him guilty of professional misconduct. The tribunal censured and suspended him from practising for a period of 36 months – the maximum suspension period.

Dr Wong faced a total of 40 charges of professional misconduct under the Medical Registration Act (MRA), of which 18 were on his inappropriate prescriptions of HRT to 18 patients between 2013 and 2015, and the remaining on his inadequate keeping of medical records of these 18 and four other patients.

Dr Wong was also criticised for not carrying out physical examinations and taking a proper history of each patient. In many instances, he started the HRT even before blood test results were out.

Among these 14 men and four women, aged 39 years to 74 years at the point of their HRT, three men underwent progesterone replacement therapy through application of cream containing progesterone – a primarily female hormone. This is not a therapy supported by scientific evidence for males, an expert report submitted to the tribunal stated.

Four women underwent testosterone replacement therapy, through intramuscular testosterone injections or application of cream containing testosterone – the primary male hormone. This therapy is not usually prescribed to women, except those with hypoactive sexual desire disorder, according to the clinical practice guideline by the international Endocrine Society.

Ten patients, including some mentioned above, were prescribed with more than one hormone each, which was also inappropriate as this subjected them to possible harm.

According to medical experts who provided their views to the tribunal, the interaction between the hormones was uncertain and could cause undesirable side effects detrimental to the patient, and it would be unclear which medication caused the side effects.

Dr Wong caused actual harm to at least three patients – a woman suffered side effects such as hand tremors, while two men saw their blood testosterone levels rise above the normal range.

The tribunal said in the 162-page decision grounds published on Oct 8 that given the “very egregious nature” of Dr Wong’s conduct and the number of patients involved, it considered this to be a case where a striking-off could have been appropriate as well, noting that he had been convicted of other MRA breaches in 2024, 2015, 2011 and 2001.

It asserted that Dr Wong was motivated by financial gain, as the package of consultations under his “anti-ageing” or “wellness and health” programme was priced at $12,000 a year for one of the patients and $10,000 for another, yet it did not include the medication costs.

The tribunal said that given the unproven benefits of the therapies, it would seem that the only beneficiary of Dr Wong’s HRT practice was himself.

It highlighted that prescribing hormones for anti-ageing or wellness was “simply not an accepted practice in Singapore”, and that even till today, there is no general medical consensus on the practice and benefits of anti-ageing medicine.

Online checks show that Dr Wong founded and runs a clinic at level eight of Paragon Medical. Its website refers to him as Dr Cecil Wong, while a Thomson Medical Centre website states that Dr Cecil Wong Yoke Meng is accredited to perform surgical procedures there.

His errant practices were first discovered by officers from the Ministry of Health (MOH) who conducted pre-licensing inspections on his clinics in July 2014 and February 2015. MOH subsequently sent a letter with feedback to SMC.

Dr Wong’s defence

In his defence, Dr Wong said that none of the 18 patients suffered any actual harm, and as he had used low doses of the hormones, there would be no risk and hence, it was all right to do so.

He also said he was not treating the patients for any specific symptoms, but rather, he was “optimising the hormone levels” to prevent or slow down the deterioration of their health and well-being.

Dr Wong called on two experts to testify in support of his HRT practices. However, the tribunal noted that the local expert acknowledged anti-ageing medicine is a “relatively new entrant into the medical field” without all the relevant guidelines.

As for Dr Wong’s foreign expert, the tribunal noted that after initial denial, the expert subsequently admitted that he and Dr Wong had been in talks for Dr Wong’s clinic to join his clinic in Hong Kong.

The tribunal said the attempt to conceal their ties “cast serious doubt on his independence, impartiality and objectivity, and the credibility of his testimony”.

Dr Wong has been convicted several times, including in 2015 when he was fined $24,000 for sending patients’ specimens and samples to unaccredited medical laboratories overseas.

In 2024, he was found guilty of improper conduct due to false declarations to SMC after failing to declare his past convictions in the Hong Kong courts.

The tribunal said Dr Wong “had not shown any regret or remorse for his misconduct”, and that taken together, all instances of his professional misconduct painted a “very disturbing” picture of Dr Wong’s “callous disregard for the laws, regulations and guidelines that govern the medical profession”, and that he did not appear to have learnt from the disciplinary action taken against him in the past, with his 2024 conviction showing a lack of honesty and truthfulness.

SMC sought for Dr Wong to be suspended for 72 months, while he said an appropriate sentence would be a suspension of not more than one year and 20 weeks.

Under the MRA, a disciplinary tribunal can order a suspension period of no more than three years. Hence, the tribunal, chaired by Associate Professor Roy Joseph, ordered on Aug 29 that Dr Wong be suspended for 36 months, from Oct 8, 2025, to Oct 7, 2028.

Checks on the SMC register did not turn up any records of Dr Wong. The Straits Times has contacted SMC to ask if Dr Wong currently holds a valid certificate to practise in Singapore.

Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

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