Doctor indicted for allegedly defrauding 424 patients of NT$18 million

Kaohsiung, Sept. 1 (CNA) Weight-loss doctor Wang Ming-yu (王銘嶼) has been indicted for allegedly defrauding 424 patients out of a total of NT$18.02 million (US$570,000) by charging for a surgical device that prosecutors said was never used during their procedures.

The Kaohsiung District Prosecutors Office said Wang was indicted on charges including fraud, document forgery and violations of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act and the Medical Devices Act.

According to the indictment, Wang was appointed vice president of Antai Hospital in Kaohsiung in 2025 and was responsible for gastrointestinal surgery at the hospital, mainly weight-loss procedures, from December 2024.

Prosecutors said Wang allegedly purchased medical devices used for open abdominal surgery for more than NT$450,000 last year without approval from the central health authorities. He also allegedly purchased five boxes of laparoscopic equipment from a Chinese company for more than NT$200,000 that same year.

According to prosecutors, Wang allegedly told 424 patients undergoing laparoscopic gastric reduction combined with intestinal bypass surgery that they would need to pay an additional NT$42,500 for a disposable wireless ultrasonic surgical device, known as "Maxima," if it was required during their procedures.

Wang allegedly had the device listed as a self-paid medical supply in consent forms and told the hospital that it would be used during surgery, prompting the hospital to add the item to its medical billing system, prosecutors said.

However, investigators found no evidence that the wireless ultrasonic device had actually been used in the patients' surgeries. Prosecutors therefore concluded that the 424 patients were charged for the device despite it not being used.

The alleged fraud generated about NT$18.02 million in proceeds, based on the NT$42,500 charge levied on each patient, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said Wang allegedly took advantage of patients' eagerness to lose weight and their trust in medical professionals to induce them to sign the self-paid medical supply consent forms.

The prosecutors' office said it has asked the court to impose a heavier sentence, citing the number of alleged fraud offenses and Wang's exploitation of patients seeking medical treatment.

Wang's medical license was revoked by the Ministry of Health and Welfare in September 2025.

He is also being investigated separately in connection with the deaths of two patients who underwent weight-loss surgery at Antai Hospital. That case remains under investigation.