Pharmacy owner’s rego ban

A WESTERN Australian pharmacy owner has been disqualified from reapplying for professional registration for six months after being convicted of illegally importing “ice-pipes”.

A State Administrative Tribunal heard Hoang-Nam Nguyen, imported a total of 2,001 ice-pipes into Australia from China and India, in 2014, resulting in him being charged on three counts of offences contrary to the Customs Act 1901.

At the time Nguyen owned a pharmacy, and was the director of a business that owned and managed a “smoke and accessories store”.

In 2016, the Magistrates Court of WA convicted Nguyen of the offences and he was ordered to pay a $60,000 fine (PD 13 Sep 16).

Following the conviction, the Pharmacy Board of Australia referred the matter to the Tribunal.

Nguyen admitted the illegal importation of the drug paraphernalia constituted professional misconduct and he was reprimanded by the Board and disqualified from re-applying for registration as a pharmacist for six months.

He was ordered to pay $1,000 towards the Board’s costs.

The Board noted Nguyen was remorseful and contrite.