TCM practitioner fined & suspended after leaving acupuncture needle in patient’s buttock
A registered Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioner has been fined S$5,000 and suspended for three months after failing to remove an acupuncture needle from a patient’s buttock, causing injury.
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The Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners Board (TCMPB) announced its decision on 10 Dec 2025 following an inquiry into a complaint against Zhao Ying.
The Board published its full Grounds of Decision on 19 Jan 2026, nearly five years after the incident took place.
Incident during acupuncture session in April 2021
The case stemmed from an acupuncture session on 24 April 2021, when the patient visited the clinic where Zhao was practising to seek treatment for shoulder, back, and neck pain.
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During the consultation, the Board found that Zhao did not carry out adequate history-taking or a proper assessment of the patient’s medical condition before proceeding with treatment.
After the acupuncture session, Zhao failed to remove one of the needles from the lower half of the patient’s buttock.
When the patient later sat on a couch in the clinic’s registration area, he experienced a sharp, piercing pain accompanied by numbness radiating through his inner thighs and legs.
The patient then discovered that a needle was still embedded in his body and removed it himself.
As a result of the incident, the patient suffered pain in his right thigh, as well as fear that led to short-term giddiness.
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Despite being informed of the unremoved needle, Zhao did not conduct further checks on the affected area or provide appropriate follow-up care.
Multiple professional breaches identified
Following an investigation, a disciplinary hearing was convened on 25 Sept 2025.
The TCMPB accepted the inquiry committee’s findings that Zhao had committed multiple breaches of professional standards.
These included failing to provide good clinical care, not taking an adequate medical history, not obtaining informed consent, failing to remove all acupuncture needles, and not providing appropriate post-treatment care.
Zhao was also found to have inadequately documented key information in the patient’s medical records.
Fined S$5,000 & suspended for 3 months
The TCMPB concluded that Zhao’s conduct fell “so far short of expectations as to warrant the imposition of sanctions”.
While the Board noted that his actions were not intentional, it found that the patient was nonetheless injured as a result.
The Board added that the incident undermined public confidence in the TCM profession, as patients are entitled to expect that a qualified practitioner will remove all needles used during an acupuncture session.
Zhao was fined S$5,000 and suspended from practice for three months, from 19 Jan 2026 to 18 April 2026, inclusive of both dates.
He was also ordered to bear the costs and expenses arising from the inquiry.
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