Dentist’s licence pulled over debts
The Dental Council has resolved to annul the dentist’s licence held by Dolrudee Jumlongras after she violated the terms of three scholarships, the council’s president revealed yesterday.
Ms Dolrudee won a grant to pursue her master’s and doctoral degrees in the United States in 1993. However, after graduating she decided not to return to teach at Bangkok’s Mahidol University as earlier agreed, making her liable for the three scholarships worth a total of 36 million baht.
The Administrative Court in 2006 ordered Ms Dolrudee to repay the money to Mahidol University and the Office of Higher Education Commission (Ohec) but she failed to make any payments.
Her four guarantors had to shoulder the debts. The university and Ohec helped by securing the court’s permission to reduce the balance owed by two-thirds to 12 million baht.
The council’s sub-committee probing her alleged misconduct found her guilty of violating the dental profession’s code of ethics, said dentist Paisal Kangwolkij, president of the council.
Another sub-committee deciding whether her misconduct should lead to the nullification of her licence decided it was a just punishment, he said.
Despite her previous promises to repay her guarantors by selling her assets in the US, none of the proceeds were forwarded to any of the four parties, Mr Paisal said.
This technically makes her guilty of fraud while also damaging the reputation of the dental profession, he said.
Dentist Padet Poolwithayakit, one of Ms Dolrudee’s guarantors, welcomed the council’s decision. He said it sets a solid precedent to deter others.
He urged the council to supply an English translation of the licence revocation so any affected parties in the United States could use it to aid their cases against her.
Mr Padet said this should be sent to the council’s US counterpart and the authorities in Massachusetts that regulate Ms Dolrudee’s practice there. The four guarantors, all of whom are Ms Dolrudee’s teachers and close friends, have now fully paid off her debt, Mr Padet told reporters.