RAUB, Sept 19 — The Sessions Court here today imposed a fine of RM50,000 on a 25-year-old woman who pleaded guilty to undertaking a fitting service for dental braces without a licence.

Judge Mazelan Jamaludin also ordered that the offender, Nurul Rohaizaz Farhana Syuhada Zazli, should be jailed for 10 months if she failed to settle the fine for the offence which was committed on February 22 at 3.55pm, at a home in Taman Bentong Makmur, Bentong.

The woman had been charged with providing private dental services without being registered in contravention of section 27 of the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998 and had faced a maximum sentence of a RM300,000 fine or six years of imprisonment or both.

She had pleaded for a minimum sentence citing her limited ability to pay the fine, along with the fact that her father was suffering from various illnesses, while the prosecution which was represented by the Health Ministry’s prosecuting officers Dr Abu Bakar Ismail and Norzaizeli Abu Samah, urged the court for a commensurate sentence as the actions of an uncertified doctor could put lives at risk.

"The actions of the accused tarnished the image of medical and dental practitioners, as well as the Health Ministry,” said Dr Abu Bakar. — Bernama