Darwin pharmacist faces tribunal over alleged conflict-of-interest dispensing of hormone drugs

The Pharmacy Board of Australia has brought professional misconduct charges against Darwin pharmacist Yong Leong, also identified as Marcus Leong, accusing him of dispensing hormone-based performance-enhancing medication in 2017. The board alleges the pharmacist acted under a conflict of interest with former Essendon club sports scientist Stephen Dank and local GP Satbir Aulakh, dispensing repeat or multiple prescriptions without explicit prescriber direction and sending drugs to interstate patients.

Documents claim Leong received a batch of computer-generated prescriptions from Dank and supplied large quantities, including four times the normal dose of a testosterone injection to two patients. In his defence, Leong says he believed Dank was a medical doctor, that he only dispensed at Dank’s request, and that he ceased after learning of Dank’s regulatory troubles, though he continued for several months. A warrant for Dank’s arrest remains in place for fraud and related charges. The matter is scheduled for a directions hearing before the Northern Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal on September 4, where potential penalties range from a caution to suspension or cancellation of Leong’s pharmacy registration.