MANILA, Philippines - Quezon City chief prosecutor Donald Lee has upheld the dismissal of criminal cases against cosmetic surgeon Dr. Vicky Belo and two others by a patient who claimed to have suffered infections in her buttocks after two augmentation procedures.
Apart from Belo, also exonerated from the cases of estafa/other deceits and violation of Medical Act of 1959 (illegal practice of medicine) were Dr. Francis Decanghon and Dr. Ronaldo Cayetano of the Belo Medical Group.
The cases stemmed from the complaint of trader Josefina Norcio, who claimed that she suffered severe infections in her buttocks after undergoing butt enhancements, which endangered her life and health.
In a seven-page review, Lee affirmed the June 8, 2012 resolution of 4th assistant city prosecutor Fabinda Santos, who dismissed the cases against the doctors citing lack of probable cause.
The chief fiscal agreed with the disposition that the charges of estafa/other deceits and violation of Medical Act of 1959 should be dismissed as the respondents are duly licensed physicians and that the butt infection Norcio complained of is remotely connected to the hydrogel butt augmentations done in 2002 and 2005.
"The rest of the disposition in the said resolution insofar as it dismisses the charge of estafa/other decits and violation of Medical Act 1959 against the respondent-surgeons is hereby approved and retained in toto," he said.
Lee however reversed Santos's recommendation to file in court the perjury case filed by Belo against Norcio.
"Viewed from the foregoing, the resolution of Prosecutor delos Santos is hereby modified by dismissing the charge of perjury against Josefina Norcio," the review said.
Belo charged Norcio with perjury after the latter answered "no" in the Investigation Data Form's question if she has a similar complaint filed before any other office.
In dismissing the perjury complaint, Lee noted that since the separate cases filed by Norcio are outside the operative prohibition against forum shopping, her failure to make the disclosure in the investigation data form is insignificant or of no consequence and would not cause the dismissal of her cases against Belo.
On two occasions, Norcio filed cases of estafa, reckless imprudence resulting in serious physical injuries, tax evasion and false, deceptive or misleading advertisement in connection with her botched butt augmentation surgeries.
She filed the first set of cases against the cosmetic surgeons in 2009 for their alleged false representation that the hydrogel and butt enhancement operation were perfectly safe.
These were dismissed the following year for insufficiency of evidence. Norcio sought a review at the Department of Justice which has not yet been resolved.
In 2011, Norcio filed the second set of cases, which were eventually dismissed by delos Santos and affirmed by Lee.
source: interaksyon.com
