Neurosurgeon sacked for data breach loses suit against SingHealth

He accessed records of 72 patients without authorisation in bid to take down fellow doc

- Selina Lum

A neurosurgeon sacked by SingHealth for accessing the medical records of more than 70 patients who were not under his care has lost his wrongful dismissal suit against the healthcare group.

A High Court judge found that the data breach committed by Dr Eddie Tan Tung Wee, 43, was driven by his "single-minded desire to take down" Dr Chen Min Wei, a fellow neurosurgeon at the National Neuroscience Institute (NNI).

Dr Tan had been hired by SingHealth as an associate consultant neurosurgeon on Aug 1, 2018, and promoted to consultant neurosurgeon on Nov 1, 2020.

From 2020, Dr Tan had lodged a series of complaints accusing the neurosurgery department of showing favouritism to Dr Chen, who was a year his junior.

When investigated in 2021 over his data breach, Dr Tan admitted he had accessed patient records without authorisation, but contended that what he had done was justified, as he had a duty to police issues relating to patient safety.

Dr Tan was dismissed on March 14, 2022. He filed the wrongful dismissal suit on June 6, 2023, which was heard over eight days in July and August 2024.

On Jan 21, 2025, Justice Chua Lee Ming dismissed the suit.

In a written judgment, Justice Chua said Dr Tan was not justified in accessing the medical records of patients not under his care.

He rejected the doctor's argument that a person can access information in breach of confidentiality and not be liable so long as his actions produce information that shows wrongdoing by a third party.

Dr Tan had also argued that he should be given whistle-blower protection against employer retaliation. But the judge said his reliance on whistle-blower protection was misplaced.

He noted that Dr Tan was not dismissed for whistle-blowing but for unauthorised access to patient records. This amounted to breach of patient confidentiality, which was grounds for dismissal under his employment contract.