Pharmacist weeps when quizzed on pill charges

Arief Katamat is accused of professional misconduct. Photo / Sarah Ivey

An Auckland pharmacist wept yesterday as he responded to allegations that his stores couldn't account for tens of thousands of pills that can be made into illegal drugs.

Arief Katamat, 39, of One Tree Hill, was the proprietor of the White Swan chain of three pharmacies in Mt Roskill, Mt Eden and Balmoral.

Now in liquidation, the business had a turnover of $2.4 million a year. Mr Katamat was earning $160,000 a year and drove a Mercedes 4WD.

The Pharmacy Council has suspended his practising certificate and he is before the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal charged with professional misconduct.

Yesterday, sobbing at the witness table, he said: "I have lost everything, my home, my business, my car, and this investigation has had a terrible impact on my family and I.

"[We] now live on a benefit. I am bankrupt and owe about $400,000 to Inland Revenue as an unsecured creditor."

Earlier evidence from the Health Ministry stated an audit found that 26,261 Sudomyl tablets and 25,535 codeine phosphate tablets were unaccounted for at the White Swan pharmacies.

Sudomyl contains pseudoephedrine, which can be made into P, and codeine is a precursor chemical of homebake heroin substitute.

Mr Katamat, originally from Indonesia, admits aspects of the charge, including labelling and licensing lapses and faulty record-keeping - but denies others.

He said two of his staff were stealing from the business and he was the victim of a "fraud" which was the explanation for the Sudomyl and codeine discrepancies.

Mr Katamat did not identify the perpetrators of the alleged fraud.

"I never sold Sudomyl in large quantities," he said, adding he hadn't made the orders either.

But lawyer Hayden Wilson, representing a professional conduct committee appointed by the Pharmacy Council, reminded him in cross-examination: "You are not charged with selling Sudomyl; you are charged that you failed to ensure that the records in relation to Sudomyl were kept."

Mr Wilson read from records after September 2008 showing orders for 1000 Sudomyl tablets were placed during short periods between the opening and closing of premises using Mr Katamat's security alarm code.

Mr Katamat indicated this was not proof that he placed the orders. He said his staff knew his alarm entry codes and passwords for the computer system and a range of people had keys.

Mr Wilson said that since the stores' security systems were upgraded in September 2008 - during the investigation period - all staff had individual codes. He also named three staff who he said had testified they did not know Mr Katamat's alarm codes.