KUANTAN: A hotel receptionist, who allegedly ran an illegal brace fitting service here for the past two years, became the second person in the country to be hauled to court for offering unlicensed dental services.
Arnalin Ibrahim, a native of Tuaran, Sabah, who allegedly advertised her services online, claimed trial at the Sessions Court here to operating an unlicensed service to fix braces on clients.
Allegedly earning between RM500 and RM1,000 from each patient, Arnalin, 23, is accused of running her illegal service at a premise at Lorong Galing 46, off Jalan Haji Ahmad here, at 12.20pm on Sept 9.
Arnalin, who allegedly learned to fix braces from the Internet, purportedly carried out the service without a permit from the Health director-general per Section 27 of the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998.
If convicted, she faces a maximum fine of RM300,000, a jail term not exceeding six years, or both.
On Sept 29 at the Melaka Sessions Court, bogus dentist Nur Farahanis Ezatty Adli, 20, pleaded guilty to running an unlicensed dental service and was fined RM70,000.
The Health Ministry's deputy public prosecutor Nurul Khairiyah Samsudin urged the court to set bail at RM40,000 with one surety as the accused did not give full cooperation to the authorities during the investigation.
Khairiyah told judge Datuk Unaizah Mohd that Arnalin kept moving houses and changing her mobile phone number to an extent that it became hard for the authorities to contact her.
Earlier this morning, Arnalin was detained at a house at Taman Inderapura here at 7am and was then brought to the Kuantan Courts Complex here to be charged.
During the proceeding, Arnalin, who was unrepresented, pleaded for a lower bail claiming she only earns RM900 a month and needs to look after her sibling in Sabah.
She told the court that her mother-in-law, who is her bailor, is not a person of means.
Unaizah granted a RM30,000 bail with one surety and ordered her to report to the nearest police station once a month.
The judge also fixed Nov 30 for mention.
Pic & article from NST Malaysia