MOST (if not all) organisations maintain a code of ethics that serve not only as an external statement of corporate values but also an internal guide to the standards of integrity and professional conduct expected of staff, or even close business partners.

Many an employee who was found to have breached rules of conduct would minimally be subject to disciplinary action, if not termination. But what if the person in question is a key contributor to the business - and who also happens to be a doctor, of whom perhaps the highest standards of professional conduct would be expected?

These questions and more arise in the case of the allegations that colorectal surgeon Julian Ong and psychiatrist Chan Herng Nieng colluded to take advantage of vulnerable female patients. The authorities' seeming silence on the case is now deafening.