A fake dentist operating out of a bedroom in Burnaby - and before that a home on Ravine Drive in Port Moody? This ongoing story (see page 10) is bizarre and deeply disturbing.
The immediate concern is for all 1,500 or so "patients" of Tung Sheng Wu, also known as David Wu, who may have been exposed to serious blood-borne viruses, including HIV and hepatitis B and C, since Wu's premises apparently displayed a "gross lack of basic hygiene," according to Fraser Health.
A lot of those at risk were too young to understand the dangers they faced - Wu's files indicate at least one-third of his patients were children.
While it is a relief that Wu's practice has been shut down, and a warrant and injunction were issued by a judge this week, there are questions about why Wu was able to get away with running his practice for so long.
A particularly shocking aspect of this investigation is that, after the dental college obtained a court injunction against Wu to stop practising dentistry out of the Ravine Drive home in 2003, he promised to leave the country within a few months.
Apparently no followup was done to see whether that had actually happened.
Authorities should have confirmed that he got on a plane or at least kept an eye on him to ensure he didn't restart his underground dental practice.
Instead, he was allowed to thumb his nose at regulators and continue to play Russian roulette with people's health for another decade.
Oversight and followup were essential in a case such as this, to protect patients who may not have understood that what Wu was doing was wrong.
As the investigation continues, more questions will likely arise as to why this rogue dentist was able to operate in secret for more than a decade.
Whatever the results, this can't be allowed to happen again.
