MOH investigating if LC Nursing Home CEO failed to disclose disciplinary actions during licence application
Chia Yang Pong, who is also the founder of LC Nursing Home in Siglap, was found guilty of professional misconduct by a Singapore Medical Council disciplinary committee and struck off the Register of Medical Practitioners in 2004.
LC Nursing Home. (Image: LC Nursing Home website)
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SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Health (MOH) is probing whether the founder and CEO of LC Nursing Home in Siglap failed to disclose disciplinary actions taken against him by healthcare regulatory authorities during the nursing home's licence application.
MOH announced in late June that it would revoke the licence of the nursing home, which operates a 93-bed facility at Jalan Ulu Siglap, after finding "serious and systemic" lapses in care and safety. The revocation will take effect on Nov 23.
Responding to CNA's queries on Wednesday (Jul 8), the ministry noted that LC Nursing Home founder and CEO Chia Yang Pong was found guilty of professional misconduct by a Singapore Medical Council disciplinary committee and struck off the Register of Medical Practitioners in 2004.
"MOH is investigating whether Mr Chia had failed to disclose to MOH at the time of the licensing application of LC Nursing Home, information concerning the disciplinary actions taken by healthcare regulatory authorities against him," it said.
The ministry added that it was "unable to comment further at this stage in the light of the ongoing investigations".
According to a 2004 High Court judgment, Mr Chia was the sole licensee of Grace Polyclinic, a chain of seven medical clinics, when MOH inspections in 2002 found that "quite a number of" its patients had been improperly prescribed benzodiazepines without proper medical records documenting their symptoms and condition. Benzodiazepines are usually used to control seizures and anxiety, as well as other conditions related to the nervous system.
The disciplinary committee convicted him of 80 charges of professional misconduct over this.
In addition to having his name removed from the Register of Medical Practitioners, he was fined S$65,000 (US$50,237), censured and ordered to pay the costs of the disciplinary proceedings against him.
His appeal against his removal from the Register of Medical Practitioners was dismissed, although the court reduced his fine from S$65,000 to S$10,000.
MOH noted that under the Healthcare Services Act 2020, Mr Chia is deemed a key appointment holder at LC Nursing Home. That role does not require medical expertise or technical oversight as a medical practitioner under the Act, according to the ministry.
Speaking in parliament on Tuesday, Senior Minister of State for Health Tan Kiat How said that MOH conducts regular and periodic audits, as well as special reviews and inspections on nursing homes.
He noted that the great majority of nursing homes placed on closer monitoring take adequate corrective actions and sustain their improvements.
But if the lapses are serious, repeated and there is a lack of meaningful effort to rectify them, MOH will have to escalate its enforcement measures, Mr Tan said, citing the cases of LC Nursing Home and Windsor Convalescent Home.
The ministry issued a notice on Jun 18 to revoke Windsor Convalescent Home's licence to provide nursing home services, the first of two such revocations announced last month due to "serious and systemic" lapses at the 45-bed nursing home at 369 Pasir Panjang Road.
Windsor Convalescent Home’s licence will be revoked from Oct 30.
Mr Tan also said that MOH and the Agency for Integrated Care will be sharing the findings of their recent audits and manpower training and grant support available in the nursing home sector.
PERSISTENT NON-COMPLIANCE
MOH's decision to revoke LC Nursing Home's licence came after a series of audits that uncovered persistent non-compliance with requirements under the Act.
Audits conducted in November and December 2025 had already identified serious lapses.
"LC Nursing Home was then given the opportunity to remediate these non-compliances, with MOH enforcing stricter and closer monitoring before assessing if further regulatory action was necessary," the ministry said on Jun 29.
However, a further audit in April 2026 found that the nursing home had failed to fully implement corrective measures or sustain earlier improvements. Investigators also uncovered new and repeated breaches. The lapses included failures to adhere to wound care protocols and food hygiene practices, as well as poorly maintained infrastructure and environment.
A notice of intended revocation was issued on Jun 2 and the operator had 14 days to respond.
In its reply, LC Nursing Home acknowledged the findings and did not dispute the non-compliances.
"While LC Nursing Home assured MOH that they would take remedial actions to address the findings, the plan provided by LC Nursing Home was very brief, without clear milestones set, and did not provide sufficient assurance," the ministry said.
After reviewing the response and audit findings, MOH concluded that the operator was unable to continue providing nursing home services safely.
It is currently working to ensure that affected residents are transferred to suitable alternative homes ahead of the November deadline.
MOH previously said that the decision to revoke the nursing homes' licences of LC Nursing Home and Windsor Convalescent Home was taken only after "careful assessment that they could not provide adequate nursing home services, and that resident well-being and safety had to be prioritised and safeguarded".
"MOH will not hesitate to take regulatory actions if licensees and/or key appointment holders are found to have fallen short of regulatory requirements to deliver safe, adequate and appropriate care," it added.
