Korean suspected
of posing as surgeon

Botched face-lifts and a drug bust
point to a medical receptionist

By Rod Ohira
Star-Bulletin

About a dozen women have approached plastic surgeon Dr. Benjamin C. Chu, seeking to correct cosmetic facial surgery performed by a woman touted as a "doctor from Korea."

But the woman, who performed eyelid and face-lift surgeries here, isn't a doctor.

"She's a medical receptionist in Seoul," said narcotics investigator Ed Howard. "She told us she learned how to do it by watching the doctor she worked for perform the surgeries."

"Overall, it's pretty sloppy work," Chu said.

"Some had bad scars or extremely uneven eyelids.

"Many had silicone injected in their lips, cheeks and around their eyes. We'd never do that. It's illegal. It's hard to fix but it can be done."

State narcotics investigators halted the underground operation with a drug bust Tuesday on a Pawaa-area apartment.

Thousands of pain-killing pills, surgical equipment and $6,000 cash were seized in the 2 p.m. raid on No. 1207 at 910 Ahana St.

Multiple drug charges are pending against three Korean women accused of illegally possessing controlled drugs and drug paraphernalia in addition to small amounts of marijuana and crystal methamphetamine.

"If there wasn't a drug angle to this, we wouldn't be able to take enforcement action," said Howard, supervising investigator for the state Narcotics Enforcement Division. "We can't arrest her for practicing medicine without a license because it's not a criminal offense."

In Hawaii practicing without a license is an administrative violation, which is like getting a speeding ticket.

Sharon On Leng of the state Regulated Industries Complaints Office said the 54-year-old woman allegedly performing the surgeries was issued a citation ordering her to cease operations and fined $500.

"She was doing the procedures on people with their consent," Leng said. "It's a spooky situation. We had another case like this about a year ago that resulted in a deportation.

"The main thing right now is to stop the activity."

The woman arrived in Hawaii March 8 and was scheduled to return to Seoul on Wednesday.

"She was booked every day in the month she was here," said Howard, who added that several surgeries were performed daily.

The cash-only asking price for eyelid surgery ranged from $600 to $800, while a face lift cost $1,200 to $5,000.

The clients were Korean women.

"Based on what I've heard, this has been going on for a long time, at least four years, maybe longer," Chu said.

Howard said that until last week the surgeries were being performed in a local hotel room.

At the Ahana Street unit, the surgeries were being performed on the floor of a bedroom.

"There was a sheet on the floor with a pillow and a steel container containing surgical equipment next to it," Howard said.

"It looked like they just completed a surgery based by what we found in the wastebasket.

"They had no regard for sterilization or public health. You can't have a person not trained medically distributing drugs without knowing how it will affect the person."

Tuesday's raid capped a one-month investigation which was initiated by reports from doctors about local Korean women trying to correct botched cosmetic surgeries, Howard said.

The turning point in the investigation came when U.S. Customs inspectors at Honolulu Airport seized a suitcase from Korea containing painkillers and surgical supplies.

Customs agent-in-charge Roy Hoffman said inspectors became suspicious because the suitcase came in as cargo.

"It was sent by the (woman who allegedly performed the surgeries)," Hoffman said.

"We didn't put two and two together until they seized the suitcase," Howard said.

"We got another big break when a Korean female came to the office and provided us with specific information about the person performing the surgery at discounted prices," he added.

The woman may also be the same "doctor" performing similar surgeries in Los Angeles, Howard said.

"This is the most bizarre case I've seen in 15 years," Howard said. "It's hard to believe people would trust their faces to a stranger's hands."