Tung Sheng Wu, also known as David Wu, is believed to have been practicing dentistry illegally in B.C. since the 1990s. Aug. 7, 2012.
A B.C. man accused of operating an illegal dental practice in the Vancouver region has turned himself in three months after authorities issued a countrywide arrest warrant.
David Wu showed up Saturday night at the front desk of a police station in Toronto, police Constable Rod Steffler said in an interview Sunday.
"He was arrested at 6:40 our time Saturday night after he came in, turned himself in and said he was wanted," Constable Steffler said. "I worked last night, so I arrested him for contempt of court. I was working the front desk at 42 Division in Scarborough."
Mr. Wu, also known as Tung Sheng Wu, posed as a dentist allegedly at residences in Burnaby and Coquitlam. Former patients have described how they went through a basement entrance at a Coquitlam home for their appointments.
The College of Dental Surgeons of British Columbia has warned that Mr. Wu "is not a real dentist and is neither qualified nor competent to practise dentistry."
The rogue dentist had originally agreed to a 2003 court order to halt practising dentistry without a licence. Last month, a B.C. Supreme Court judge sentenced him in absentia to three months in jail, saying Mr. Wu has shown "intention to escape the consequences of his wrongdoing and to resume it elsewhere."
Mr. Wu allegedly asked patients to show up at the Coquitlam home through July, even though the College of Dental Surgeons of British Columbia raided and closed a clinic in Burnaby in the spring. The college said Mr. Wu operated on a profit motive, without regard to maintaining proper sanitary conditions in his illegal dental clinics.
He allegedly fled British Columbia with dental equipment, prompting the college to warn that he might set up operations elsewhere in Canada. The college offered a $2,000 reward in August for information that would lead to the fugitive's arrest.
The college said Mr. Wu lured clients with cut-rate prices and also enticed new arrivals to Canada who didn't have access to dental insurance and therefore would be attracted to the underground economy of illegal dentistry.
"Complaints of unauthorized dental practice are rare. Having said that, it is unlikely that Mr. Wu is the only person practising dentistry illegally in B.C.," the college said in a statement in August.
A bail hearing is scheduled for Mr. Wu in Ontario Superior Court on Monday in Toronto.
Brent Jang