Former Doctor in Disguise Suspected of Stealing Surgical Equipment

A former doctor suspected of stealing surgical equipment from Fountain Valley Regional Hospital on three occasions was free on bail today.

Roy Chi Wing Lung, a 46-year-old Los Alamitos man, was arrested Sunday and booked on suspicion of commercial burglary, posted bail and was released today, according to Orange County jail records.

The thefts started May 19, Fountain Valley police Lt. Ken Hounsley said.

Lung came to the hospital Sunday in medical scrubs and a wig, but an employee recognized him as a suspect that police were looking for, Hounsley said. The employee notified security guards, who called police.

As Lung was driving away from the hospital, police arrested him, he said.

Police searched Lung's home and found a stash of stolen surgical equipment, Hounsley said, adding that it was unclear how much the equipment is worth.

"We've got a lot of property here, and we're sorting through it," he said.

“As for what he was doing with it, we are still working on it as part of the investigation,” Hounsley added. “He used to be a doctor. He no longer is.”

Lung lost his license to practice medicine in 2009 after he allegedly continued to practice medicine despite having a suspended license. His license was suspended at the time following two patient deaths that occurred under his care as an emergency room doctor in northern California.

On June 29, 2004, and July 6, 2004, Lung took two computers and a computer bag and possessed another physician's parking sticker at Long Beach Memorial, according to state records.

When Lung completed the terms of probation early, his conviction was set aside, according to state records.

Lung has been seen at other hospitals wearing scrubs, according to the state records.

In December 2007, a nurse at Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center in Fountain Valley confronted Lung, who identified himself as Dr. Lin while declining to produce identification and would not wait for security, according to state records. The nurse said his "pockets were puffed," according to the records.

On Jan. 11, 2008, Lung was at Orange Coast again wearing scrubs and a fleece jacket with the hospital's insignia on it, which is not allowed by those not on staff, according to the records. When an executive confronted him, Lung refused to identify himself and claimed he had a right to be there because he was a physician, according to state records.

The executive kept Lung there until Fountain Valley police arrived. Lung told police he was "resting" in the doctors' lounge and had privileges at the hospital about 10 years before that, according to the records.

Lung said he had been going to the hospital about once a week for about 10 years to use the shower and sleep there and had taken hospital supplies, which he later used or sold, according to the records in his disciplinary hearing.

Lung pleaded guilty in September 2010 to resisting a peace officer and obstructing a business, both misdemeanors and was placed on three years of informal probation, which was set to expire in September this year, and ordered to do 20 days of community service with Caltrans, according to Orange County Superior Court records.

Lung was also accused of continuing to practice at a physical therapy office in Pomona while his license was suspended.

Medical board officials also faulted his emergency room care that led to the deaths of two patients in 2002 and 2003.

Lung earned a bachelor of science degree in bioengineering from UCLA in June 1989, graduated from the University of Texas, San Antonio, medical school in May 1993 and completed graduate training at UC Irvine in June 1996.