Doctors who let unlicensed vendors perform surgeries avoid jail

Taichung, Sept. 15 (CNA) The Taichung District Court on Tuesday handed suspended sentences to two doctors who let unlicensed device vendors participate in surgeries at Taichung Veterans General Hospital (TVGH).

Yang Meng-yin (楊孟寅) received 16 months and Cheng Wen-yu (鄭文郁) 14 months, both suspended for four years, according to the court. The ruling can be appealed.

Yang and Cheng both remain in TVGH's Department of Neurosurgery after losing their directorships in oncology and minimally invasive neurosurgery, respectively, following a January referral to prosecutors.

In May, Taichung prosecutors charged Yang and Cheng with fraud and violations of the Physicians Act, accusing them of allowing three vendors to illegally perform medical procedures during 13 surgeries between March 2023 and October 2025.

The unauthorized procedures included using electrocautery to stop bleeding, harvesting tissue, implanting screws, and assembling connecting rods, according to the indictment.

According to prosecutors, the defendants hid the vendors' involvement from patients, charged them high out-of-pocket fees, and also fraudulently claimed National Health Insurance reimbursements for the unauthorized procedures.

Prosecutors sought heavy penalties for both physicians, saying that they had undermined medical ethics and violated patients' rights.

Prosecutors further alleged that the vendors shared part of the proceeds from medical device sales with the two physicians to secure continued product use and sales.

According to prosecutors, the five defendants netted over NT$1.96 million (US$61,468) in illegal gains. Although three vendors confessed and surrendered their entire NT$330,000 share of illicit gains, prosecutors still requested appropriate penalties for them.

The court sentenced two of the vendors to eight months in prison and the third to one year, all suspended for three years. The vendors can also appeal the ruling.