An Indonesian female migrant worker named Mi (pseudonym, 37 years old) came to Taiwan to work as a manufacturing technician. Since the year before last, she watched videos online to learn medical aesthetics skills, and expanded her service items to include eyelash tattooing and skin whitening. She also posted advertisements online. Because the fees were cheaper than the general market price, many migrant workers from her hometown rushed to make appointments. Last year, the Kaohsiung City Special Service Team found that she was engaged in secret medical practices and transferred and prosecuted her for violating the Physician Act. After the court trial, the judge believed that although Mi was involved in violating the Physician Act, she was only providing cheap services to her fellow countrymen, so she was sentenced to 6 months in prison, suspended for 3 years, and declared that she would not be deported.
The Kaohsiung City Special Service Team received a tip last year that Mi was suspected of engaging in illegal medical practices such as tooth correction and cosmetic surgery. She only charged a few thousand dollars for tooth correction that would cost more than 100,000 dollars in a general clinic, and the number of seats was limited, so almost every session was fully booked.
After several months of investigation and evidence collection, the Kaohsiung City Special Service Team, under the command of the prosecutor of the Kaohsiung District Prosecutor’s Office, conducted a search operation in a hotel in Sanmin District, Kaohsiung City in conjunction with the Kaohsiung City Government Health Bureau. In addition to arresting Mi on the spot, nearly 300 pieces of medical-related evidence were seized. The case has been transferred to the Kaohsiung District Prosecutor’s Office for investigation in accordance with the provisions of the crime of illegally performing medical business in violation of the Physician Act.
The task force found that the suspect, Ms. Mi, was originally a nurse in her hometown of Indonesia. After coming to Taiwan in 2016, she wanted to work part-time, so she watched videos online to learn medical aesthetics skills, and expanded her service items to include eyelash tattooing and skin whitening. A total of more than 20 services are available for reservation, and the fees are cheaper than the general market price, attracting many migrant workers from the same hometown to “scramble” to make reservations for beauty.
The task force also found that Ms. Mi was suspected of accidentally scraping the patient’s tongue or failing to install the orthodontic appliance during dental treatment, and was complained by the customer. In the advertisement post, she generously admitted that she was “learning by doing”, but there were still many brave customers who were eager to try.
During the court trial, Ms. Mi admitted to the crime. The judge believed that although migrant workers who came to Taiwan to work have national insurance, many dental treatments and medical supplies are not covered by national insurance. Even Taiwanese people find it expensive to go to dental clinics for tooth-related treatments. Migrant workers have low incomes but have to pay high out-of-pocket expenses. Therefore, she was sentenced to six months in prison for illegally performing medical business, which can be commuted to a fine. She was also given a six-year suspended sentence and should pay NT$50,000 to the public treasury. In addition, considering that Ms. Mi’s patients are mainly migrant workers and the impact on public health is limited, she was told that she does not need to be deported and the case can be appealed.
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