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KUALA LUMPUR – The Health Ministry will work closely with the police and the Human Resources Ministry over a case involving falsified Covid-19 test results after they were reported by a clinic in Rawang.
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the ministry is concerned about the matter and wants to ensure it is resolved.
During his daily press conference on the pandemic, he lauded Klinik SP Care founder Dr Sathia Prakash Nadarajan for reporting the fabrication to the authorities.
“The ministry extends its thanks to Dr Sathia for his actions in filing a police report,” Dr Noor Hisham said, adding that police have the capacity to investigate the case.
He said the ministry would also ensure that private laboratories conducting Covid-19 screenings are continuously audited to ensure necessary standards are adhered to.
Malaysiakini had reported earlier that Dr Sathia discovered 20 fake test result reports bearing the clinic’s name.
Dr Sathia pointed out that the names of original tested individuals - who were from subcontracting firms which operated in public and private sectors - were replaced with other names on the reports.
The clinic has been providing Covid-19 tests since early April.
The clinic had also lodged two police reports over the matter, with the first filed in June followed by the second last week.
Dr Noor Hisham said action could be taken under the Prevention And Control of Infectious Disease Act 1988 (Act 342) and other legislations.
He added screenings conducted by private laboratories must be reported to the Health Ministry to allow it to determine cases or results that are falsified.
On claims that many Covid-19 cases in Klang, which has been badly hit, were sent late to a nearby hospital, Dr Noor Hisham said this could be due to some private labs having yet to integrate their information systems with the ministry.
“We need to integrate the data (of cases found to be positive),” he said.
“Cases discovered in private labs must be relayed to the ministry via the district health office so that appropriate action can be taken as soon as possible.” – The Vibes, December 16, 2020
