A Chinese national has been arrested in Pasay City for alleged illegal practice of medicine, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said on Friday, Dec. 6.
NBI Director Jaime B. Santiago presented before the media the Chinese national who was identified as Xu Jianxin, also known as Zhang Lin.
Xu Jianxin was arrested during an entrapment operation conducted by operatives of the NBI-National Capital Region (NBI-NCR) last Dec. 3 at a stock room of a restaurant in Pasay City.
The NBI said the suspect was believed to be continuing the operations of the nearby Tai An Clinic that had been padlocked following a raid led by the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC).
“Eto na ‘yung pinasara na clinic dati (This is the clinic that had been padlocked). For some reason they continued to operate,” said NBI Spokesperson and NBI-NCR Director Ferdinand Lavin.
Lavin said the NBI-NCR operatives also recovered from the suspect various Chinese medicines and medical equipment.
“Itong kanyang mga ginagamit, we have checked with the FDA, hindi ito registered (What he has been using are not registered after we checked with the Food and Drug Administration),” he also said.
Following the operation, the Chinese national was presented for inquest before the Pasay City Prosecutor’s Office for violation of Republic Act (RA) 2382, the Medical Act of 1959, in relation to RA 10175, the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.
The NBI said the operation was conducted after the bureau received information that the clinic was “still offering medical services to Chinese nationals on calls, and messages through use of ‘Telegram’ application.”
It said it already received a certification from the Department of Health (DOH) which stated that Tai An is not a licensed general clinical laboratory and has no pending license to operate.
It also said the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) has sent to the NBI a certification that the Chinese national is not authorized to perform medical procedures in the Philippines.