The Singapore Medical Council Disciplinary Tribunal suspended Dr Teo Sek Khee for seven months after he pleaded guilty to professional misconduct for failing to provide competent and appropriate care to a 72-year-old patient at Hospital A between August and September 2013, resulting in delayed diagnosis of gastrointestinal bleeding.
- Clinical omissions: Dr Teo failed to perform a digital rectal examination, order an INR test despite the patient being on warfarin, arrange blood for transfusion standby, refer for urgent gastroenterology or surgical review, and withheld discharge despite multiple warning signs including CT findings of gastro-oesophageal varices and a 25% haemoglobin drop from 10.4 g/dL to 7.8 g/dL over five days.
- Patient outcome: The patient was discharged on 2 September 2013, re-admitted to another hospital on 5 September 2013 after dizziness, weakness and a fall causing head injury, and was diagnosed with upper gastrointestinal bleeding, severe anaemia and dangerously elevated INR above 10; he required urgent endoscopy, blood transfusions, and later underwent splenectomy in July 2014 due to recurrent bleeding.
- Sanctions and mitigation: The Tribunal assessed harm as moderate and culpability as medium, imposing a seven-month suspension with ancillary orders. While noting serious negligence, it gave substantial mitigating weight to Dr Teo’s previously unblemished career and extraordinary delays of more than 12 years in the disciplinary process.
This summary is based on the Grounds of Decision issued by the Singapore Medical Council Disciplinary Tribunal in Singapore Medical Council v Dr Teo Sek Khee [2026] SMCDT 3.
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