VANCOUVER -- A dentist who is accused by the College of Dental Surgeons of practising illegally may have continued seeing patients for almost two months following a search of his clinic at the end of May, court documents show.
In an affidavit filed Monday in B.C. Supreme Court, public health nurse Catherine Wall alleges she received three phone calls on Aug. 8 from patients or families of patients who had been treated by Tung Sheng Wu as recently as July 20.
On May 29, the RCMP and college investigators entered the house where Wu, also known as David, was believed to be living in Burnaby, B.C., east of Vancouver.
One of the investigators, dentist Alexander Penner, said in court documents that Wu's living room was set up as a waiting room with rows of folding chairs. The bedroom was set up to perform operations, Penner said in an affidavit.
Penner said he "proceeded to seize and package up anything that (showed) evidence of the practice of dentistry."
However, Wu "may have continued to provide treatment to his patients even after the College executed the search," Wall states in her affidavit.
Wall describes three conversations she had last week with individuals who allege Wu had either treated them or one of their family members since May 29.
One caller, identified as "Mr. C", allegedly said Wu had come to his home on July 20 to make an adjustment to his braces.
Penner filed a second affidavit on Monday, attesting to a phone call with a "Ms. B" whose mother had been receiving treatment from Wu for some time. Ms. B allegedly said Wu had contacted her mother at the end of July to schedule ongoing treatment from a Coquitlam residence.
"Ms. B stated that the back door of the residence is being used as the entrance for the defendant's 'patients"' Penner states in the affidavit.
In the meantime, investigators are still trying to locate Wu. He did not appear at a hearing on Monday, and a warrant has since been issued for his arrest. Wu was to face allegations he violated an injunction from 2003, when he was ordered to stop practising dentistry. A new court order was issued Monday, once again banning Wu from acting as a dentist.
The college says it wants Wu apprehended and it has asked the court for the stiffest possible penalty, including the potential for jail time.
Private investigator Michael Lantz said in an affidavit filed Monday that he believes Wu may be trying to flee the province. Lantz tracked down Wu's alleged vehicle at a transportation facility in Richmond last week, where it was being prepped for loading onto a flat-deck truck.
Lantz alleges the vehicle was full of clothes, suitcases and what appeared to be dental supplies.
"I approached and spoke to an individual who introduced himself to me as a J-Link Transportation employee. He would not give me his name. This person initially told me that the vehicle was being shipped to Toronto," Lantz said. "The person later told me that the vehicle would be subsequently shipped from Toronto to China, but in my view the particulars of that statement are implausible. I believe the person was not being truthful and was tying to mislead me."
Lantz said he knew the vehicle was leased from earlier investigations, so he phoned the RCMP to report the potential theft of the vehicle through out-of-country shipment.
Richmond RCMP Cpl. Stephanie Ashton later arrived at the facility, where Lantz said she spoke with the same employee.
The RCMP did not respond to a request for comment about the investigation, or what happened to the vehicle.
None of the allegations in the court documents have been proven in court.
