Katamat v Professional Conduct Committee

IN THE HIGH COURT OF NEW ZEALAND AUCKLAND REGISTRY

CIV-2011-404-6069 [2012] NZHC 1633

BETWEEN  ARIEF NUGROHO PRIJONO KATAMAT Appellant

ANDPROFESSIONAL CONDUCT COMMITTEE

Respondent

Hearing:         10 July 2012

Counsel:         F Joychild for Appellant

H Wilson and A Hall for Respondent

Judgment:      21 December 2012

In accordance with r 11.5, I direct the Registrar to endorse this judgment with the delivery time of 1.30pm on the 21st December 2012.

JUDGMENT OF WILLIAMS J

Solicitors:

Davenports City Law, PO Box 47500, Auckland 1144

Kensington Swan, PO Box 10246, Wellington 6143

F Joychild, PO Box 47947, Auckland 1144

ARIEF NUGROHO PRIJONO KATAMAT V PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT COMMITTEE HC AK CIV-2011-

404-6069 [21 December 2012]

Introduction

[1]      Mr Katamat (the appellant) is a former pharmacist.  On 2 September 2011, the Health Practitioner’s Disciplinary Tribunal cancelled his registration as a pharmacist,  censured  him,  and  ordered  that  he  pay  costs  of  $78,428.30.1      The Tribunal had earlier2 found him guilty of professional misconduct under s 100(1)(a) of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 (the Act).

[2]      Mr  Katamat  now  appeals  the  Tribunal’s  decision  on  penalty  only.    He contends:

(a)      the decision to de-register him was unreasonably harsh.   A lesser penalty,  namely  suspension  and  close  supervision  on  return  to practice, would have sufficed;

(b)the   decision   to   formally   censure   him   was   unreasonable   and unnecessary;

(c)      the costs award, amounting to 25 per cent of costs incurred in his prosecution, was excessive.

Facts

[3]      The misconduct occurred while Mr Katamat was, through his company White Swan Pharmacy Limited, the owner of, and responsible pharmacist at, three pharmacies  in Auckland.   These were the “White Swan” pharmacies  located at Mt Roskill, Mt Eden and Balmoral.

[4]      The  appellant  had  purchased  the  Mt  Roskill  pharmacy  in  1997.     He incorporated  White  Swan  Pharmacy  Limited  the  same  year.     The  businesses

expanded in 2006, purchasing the Balmoral and Mt Eden pharmacies.

1      Professional Conduct Committee v Katamat HPDT 399/Phar10/162P, 2 September 2011.

2      Professional Conduct Committee v Katamat HPDT 378/Phar10/162P, 1 June 2011.

[5]      When he purchased the last two pharmacies, the appellant employed Bakr El Saudi as pharmacist at the Balmoral pharmacy and Puli Pavan Kumar as pharmacist at the Mt Eden pharmacy. Mr Kumar’s wife, Ujwala Karupakala, was also employed at the Mt Roskill pharmacy from April 2008.

[6]      On   25  April   2009,   Ms   Karupakala   made   an   internal   complaint   to management  at  the  Mt  Roskill  pharmacy,  and  to  the  appellant  himself,  about practices  at  the  Mt  Roskill  pharmacy.    On  29  April  2009,  she  forwarded  her complaint to the Medicines Control Team at the Ministry of Health (the Ministry). She resigned from White Swan Pharmacy Limited shortly afterward.

[7]      In  response, the Medicines  Control Team  requested  reports  of medicines purchased for the White Swan pharmacies between May 2006 and April 2009.  On

3 June 2009, the Team also conducted unannounced, simultaneous inspections of all three  pharmacies.    On  9  June  2009,  it  conducted  a  second  inspection  of  the Mt Roskill pharmacy.

[8]      Reports were prepared for all four inspections.   A common theme of the findings for each…