Two self-proclaimed doctors from China were arrested in Makati City yesterday for allegedly running a clinic that exclusively treated the suspects’ compatriots, including COVID-19 patients.
Major Gideon Ines Jr., chief of the Makati police’s investigative unit, said that he and his team raided Goldstar Medical Clinic and Pharmacy, located on the entire fifth floor of Lema Building on Sampaloc Street, at about 4pm. Cops conducted the operation after receiving a tip that Chinese patients were going to the clinic for COVID-19 treatments.
“We found four Chinese patients confined there. They said they were experiencing COVID-like symptoms,” Ines told the Manila Bulletin.
“We used a Chinese asset to pretend that he is sick and needs treatment,” Ines added. “Despite not being really ill, the Chinese doctor said that he may need to be confined to their facility.”
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Arrested during the raid were David Lai, 49, who introduced himself as the head doctor and his assistant, Liao Songhua, 41.
Seized from the clinic were coronavirus rapid test kits, swab sticks, vials, syringes, and boxes of China-made medicines which were not registered with the Philippines’ Food and Drug Administration. Cops brought the four Chinese patients discovered at the clinic to the Makati Health Office for checkups.
Authorities will charge the two Chinese medical practitioners for violating the Medical Act of 1969 and the Food and Drug Administration Act of 2009.
The Makati raid comes a week after another illegal clinic catering exclusively to Chinese nationals was discovered at Fontana Leisure Park in Pampanga, an upscale resort owned by Macau gambling tycoon Jack Lam.
Hundreds of Chinese nationals have moved to the Philippines to work in gaming companies that sprouted all over the country since President Rodrigo Duterte came into power. Duterte maintains a close relationship with Beijing and has even publicly thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping for supposedly supporting the Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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