KEY POINTS:
An Auckland man claiming to be an optometrist has been fined $48,000.
Peter Sang Wook Park, of Pakuranga, pleaded guilty to six representative charges and was today sentenced in Counties Manukau District Court to fines of $48,000, with reparations and court costs bringing the total to more than $60,000.
The conviction marks the first time the Ministry of Health has prosecuted an unqualified person claiming to be a registered health professional under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003.
Ministry manager workforce John Marwick said the six charges represented a pattern of offending extending over a year.
Dr Marwick said only registered practitioners can use the title optometrist.
Park prescribed spectacles and contact lenses, which were restricted activities under the Act.
In sentencing Park, Judge David Harvey said he considered the offences were too serious for the court to make anything other than a stern response.
He noted there were significant health risks to the public and Mr Park had misrepresented himself to people who relied on his false claims.
Judge Harvey said the case should make it "abundantly clear" that "quacks" would be dealt with seriously.
Park acted as an optometrist from June 2006 to June 2007.
Computer records seized by investigators showed he conducted over 477 consultations with patients over that time, despite having no optometry qualifications.
"This man's actions in holding himself out as an optometrist, conducting eye examinations and prescribing contact lenses and glasses, including to children, misled the public and placed their health at risk," said Dr Marwick.
"Patients who saw the defendant had no way to discern this, and the majority of the offending was conducted by Park with the full knowledge that his actions were unlawful."
Dr Marwick said the case should serve as a reminder that people falsely claiming to be registered practitioners face serious consequences.
He said the ministry took these matters very seriously and was investigating a number of other complaints. Further prosecutions would be brought if necessary to protect the public.
- NZPA
