A man in his 50s who falsely claimed to be a doctor with a U.S. education before performing illegal medical procedures that fractured a patient's ribs has been sentenced to probation and a fine.
The Busan District Court sentenced the man in his 50s, identified as A, to one year and six months in prison suspended for three years, along with a fine of 5 million won. He was indicted on charges including fraud, violation of the Special Act on the Control of Public Health Crimes, and professional negligence resulting in injury.
A was sent to trial on charges of deceiving a victim who visited him in Busanjin-gu, Busan, in November of last year through an acquaintance, falsely presenting himself as a doctor and pocketing 1.8 million won under the guise of treatment fees.
A deceived the victim by claiming, "I am the only person in South Korea who possesses a treatment technique called chiropractic care. After working as a doctor in Korea, I went to study in the U.S. and learned this treatment method from a talented doctor, and I earned a medical degree from a well-known U.S. university."
However, A was not a doctor, nor had he ever studied in the U.S. or formally learned the treatment methods.
Investigations revealed that A subjected the victim to illegal procedures a total of seven times between November 13 and December 11 of last year, telling the victim, "Your internal organs are out of balance and leaning to one side," while hitting, pressing, and massaging the abdomen, shoulders, and head with his palms.
During the final session, he fractured two of the patient's left ribs, inflicting injuries that required four weeks of medical treatment.
The court stated the reasoning for its sentencing, saying, "Unlicensed medical acts are serious crimes that can pose significant hazards to public health. The defendant not only defrauded treatment fees by impersonating a doctor and conducting illegal medical practices, but also inflicted a fracture requiring four weeks of treatment on the victim, meaning his culpability is not light."
Reported by Jung Da-eun | Video by Hong Jin-young | Graphics by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
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