PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) – The Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) Monday urged the public to be cautious after a 39-year-old man appeared in a magistrate’s court charged with three offences under the Medical Board Act.

The TTPS said that Timothy Malchan was charged with using medical titles and descriptions whilst not registered, assuming the title of doctor whilst not registered and diagnosing human ailments whilst not registered.

Malchan appeared before Magistrate Ali at the Arima Third Magistrates’ Court, where he entered a plea of not guilty and was was granted TT$50,000 own bail and is scheduled to re-appear in court on June 17 next year.

The police said that the charges stem from an investigation launched in January 2025, following a report by Eastern Regional Health Authority (ERHA), where it was alleged that Malchan had been contacting ERHA patients to discuss their confidential medical records and subsequently requesting payment for these “consultations.”

“Extensive investigations conducted at the Medical Board of Trinidad and Tobago revealed that Mr Malchan was not registered as a medical practitioner, nor was he registered in the specialties of Cardiovascular Disease, Thoracic Surgery, or Cardiothoracic Surgery, despite advertising himself as such,” the TTPS said.

It said investigations also revealed that he had never been registered with any of the boards under the purview of the Council for Professions Related to Medicine and that further inquiries revealed that Malchan was operating out of an office “ which was being advertised both on social media and on the exterior of the building”.

The police said covert operations were done which revealed the doctor performed a medical procedure and gave medical advice for a fee.

Last Wednesday, police said that they launched an intelligence-led operation and that during this exercise, investigators executed a search warrant at the suspect’s office, where several records were seized.

Malchan was then formally charged with the three offences.