Ex-navy officer arrested in Bangkok for 20 years of unlicensed medical practice

A 55 year old former navy officer has been apprehended in Bangkok for practicing medicine without a valid licence for the past two decades.

Thanaboon was detained at a clinic on Phetchaburi Soi 31 in the Ratchathewi district on September 6, according to the Metropolitan Police Bureau.

This arrest stemmed from a complaint by a local regarding a group of fake doctors offering abortion services in clinics along Phetchaburi Road.

Upon arrival at the clinic, officers found Thanaboon preparing to administer an injection to a patient, with assistance from a nurse from Myanmar. Despite his claims of holding a medical licence, officers were unable to verify his credentials in the Medical Council of Thailand’s online database.

Thanaboon ultimately confessed to practising without a licence since 2004. He disclosed that he had been running the clinic on Phetchaburi Soi 31 for over a decade.

Inspection of the clinic’s upper floors revealed patient rooms in poor condition. Additionally, various images of pelvic ultrasound results and childbirths at the clinic were discovered on his mobile phone.

Thanaboon stated that he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in nursing and midwifery in 1989 and subsequently served as an officer with the navy medical corps at a hospital in Sattahip district, Chon Buri.

Seeking to augment his income, Thanaboon began working as an unlicensed doctor at medical clinics in 2004. Arrested in 2009 for illegal abortion services, he was released on bail and managed to evade further legal consequences until the case expired, reported Bangkok Post.

“I wanted to increase my income, so I started taking side jobs as an unlicensed doctor,” he admitted.

Following his departure from the navy, Thanaboon acknowledged that for the last 20 years, he had been providing unauthorised medical services at various clinics, utilising the knowledge he gained while studying nursing as a navy officer.