NBI files 4 cases vs famed cosmetic surgeon Julie M. Aurelio Philippine Daily Inquirer
November 05, 2009
MANILA, Philippines--The National Bureau of Investigation filed criminal cases Thursday against Dr. Vicki Belo and two doctors of the Belo Medical Group (BMG) after a former patient complained that she nearly died after undergoing butt enhancement surgery in Belo’s clinic.
Belo, Dr. Ronaldo Cayetano and Dr. Francis Decangchon were all charged with reckless imprudence resulting in serious physical injuries.
On top of this, Belo was also charged with estafa, tax evasion, and [making] false, deceptive or misleading advertisements under the Consumer Act.
The cases were based on a complaint filed against Belo and company by Josefina Norcio, a businesswoman, who said she developed an infection after Cayetano injected hydrogel into her buttocks in 2002.
The NBI filed the charges in Norcio’s behalf after its investigation showed that hydrogel contains acrolein, a poisonous substance.
“Sample specimen taken from [Norcio] was examined by the Forensic Chemistry Division and yielded positive results for acrolein and pus,” it said.
In her affidavit, Norcio said she decided to undergo butt augmentation surgery after Belo allegedly assured her that the procedure was “perfectly safe.”
The surgery was performed by Cayetano but Norcio said she was dissatisfied with the results as one cheek was bigger than the other. In 2005, she underwent a correctional procedure, this time performed by Decangchon.
In May this year, Norcio said she was admitted to St. Luke’s Medical Center for pain in her backside. Doctors later found out that she had developed an infection because of the hydrogel in her body.
Trixie Angeles, the businesswoman’s lawyer, said her client had to undergo six operations to get the hydrogel out of her buttocks.
“Were it not for the timely medical intervention, she could have died as a result of [the] infection caused by hydrogel,” the NBI said.
According to the bureau, they charged Belo with estafa for “misrepresenting to Norcio that hydrogel was perfectly safe when in truth and in fact, it is not.”
Deceptive advertisement
The controversial doctor to the stars, the NBI added, was likewise liable for deceptive advertisement because she claimed that hydrogel was perfectly safe to use in butt augmentation procedures.
It explained that the charge of tax evasion was due to Belo’s alleged practice of not issuing official receipts to her patients.
The three doctors, meanwhile, were liable for reckless imprudence because “they [did] not exercise extra diligence in their conduct of the operation,” the NBI said in its complaint.
BMG statement
Contacted for comment, BMG, through its spokesperson, Leah Salterio, said in a text message to the Inquirer:
“The Belo Medical Group remains perplexed by these continued allegations being leveled against us in the media by the counsel of Mrs. Norcio. Up to this point, we have not received a single complaint, except for a demand letter insisting [on] the immediate payment of P200 million. It was only after our refusal to pay that Mrs. Norcio’s group intensified their [attacks in media]. So far, all their press statements have been unsubstantiated and devoid of any proof. On the other hand, it is undeniable that so many things could have happened in the span of four long years. Moreover, the acute infection found in Mrs. Norcio’s buttocks could not have possibly taken that long to manifest. Even the supposed laboratory findings they themselves distributed to media do not contain the word “hydrogel” much less support their claims in any way.”
