The Honolulu Civil Beat
Longtime Online Journal Lost Standard of Journalism
An acupuncture practitioner, Dr. Mike M. Hashimoto, falsely alleged professional misconduct by a stalking act of a female patient in 2016. According to the national survey, about 12 % of false accusations toward medical professionals occur yearly. The Honolulu Police Department has disregarded the case for the fictitious allegation. It referred to the state Regulated Industry Complaints Office (RICO) for settlement, which took three years due to short staff for investigation; that is understandable because Dr. Hashimoto used to serve as a member of the advisory committee for the state Board of Acupuncture; only limited investigators manage regular and false complaints towards licensed professionals. Usually, 60 to 80 cases are constantly backlogged.
Dr. Hashimoto requested a polygraph test twice, but the RICO said they trusted his protest. Dr. Hashimoto intends to file lawsuits against the patient for the false allegation, but the RICO noted it has a statute of limitation.
The RICO closed the case in July 2019 without evidence confirming the allegation. According to the RICO, there is no protection for a healthcare practitioner but for a claimer. Regardless, the patient with histrionic or borderline personality, persecution mania, is mentally unstable, paranoid, or just a pathological liar. The clinical record revealed that the patient did not show up to the regular appointments six times without a call or any notice in the past. Still, the practitioner did not discharge the patient because he knew her parents.
Dr. Hashimoto preferred not to disclose the patient's psychological behavior due to the duty of confidentiality. Still, after reviewing the absurd details of the accusation, Dr. Hashimoto cannot accept the threat to his integrity posed by a false allegation. It is hard to believe the patient created such a deceitful story. Moreover, Dr. Hashimoto has a history of cardiac issues, which caused his fifth cardiac arrest by stress after a false accusation that the heart surgeon ordered not to serve on jury duty, which Dr. Hashimoto was to schedule. Without consequences, false accusations will ruin innocent practitioners’ lives and lead to hostility or distrust in the patient relationship. The statistics revealed that acupuncturists' ethics level is very high, the Executive Officer of the Board of Acupuncture stated. No incompetent claims were received or reported by the RICO.
The Hawaii State Regulated Industries Complaints Office – DCCA/RICO
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Complaints to Dentists: 2011 (16 cases), 2012 (30 cases), 2013 (20 cases)
Deputy Attorney General for the Board of Acupuncture, complaints about acupuncture practice account for the fewest cases.
On 3/12/2019, Dr. Hashimoto received a phone call from Mr. John Hill, who claimed he had all the RICO documents and an investigation for an interview.
Dr. Hashimoto believed he was an investigator from the RICO until Mr. Hill visited his office without showing the state investigator’s ID or business card, scribbling his name, phone number, and e-mail address on the back of Dr. Hashimoto’s business card.
John Hill
Dr. Hashimoto asked Mr. Hill how he found information on the case since he is not a state investigator. He replied that a person who made a false allegation to Dr. Hashimoto requested. Mr. Hill asked a few questions, took photographs without permission, and fled the practitioner's office.
Dr. Hashimoto traced the Honolulu Civil Beat activity, an online journal seeking governmental authorities' dysfunction and societal scandals. The delay and the slow process of the State Department RICO were bait for their mission. The information on the Honolulu Civil Beat shows that Mr. John Hill was the editor and investigator; it was surprising that they even impersonated state investigators and used cunning tactics to collect information.
Dr. Hashimoto told Mr. Hill to disclose the contents to him before displaying them online and not to show the photo since the RICO was still investigating the case. Still, Mr. Hill ignored the advice, which infringed on an image right. The article described Dr. Hashimoto as not having a certificate from NCCAOM (National Certification Commission for Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine), which does not mean that selling a Diplomate status or is a broker of continuing education.
Dr. Hashimoto obtained the certificate when NCCAOM started in 1986 to support them but discontinued it in 1999 because they are accepting the “tutorship” as a qualification, which was against Hawaii’s educational standard of acupuncture and Dr. Hashimoto’s position as a member of the state Board of Acupuncture.
At the same time, Dr. Hashimoto considered shifting his focus to education, where he has given an international seminar to acupuncture students since 2014 and a clinical workshop with Hawaii licenses. The ill-intention and schematically intriguing article by the Honolulu Civil Beat on the Internet resulted in reduced patients and the cancellation of two international seminars that should have caused punitive damage and counterfeit business disruption.
The practitioner’s colleague recently notified him that the article and photos were still under the practitioner's name on the internet. Dr. Hashimoto visited the Honolulu Civil Beat's office in Waialae Avenue on 11/16/2021 to find out why the article had been online for the past two years under Dr. Hashimoto's name. However, Mr. John Hill replied that he does not recall the article or even remember the consequences of the case.
While Dr. Hashimoto was talking, Mr. Hill acted and suddenly screamed, "Don't touch me!" This prompted agitation and evaded Dr. Hashimot's question. Dr. Hashimoto was stunned by Mr. Hill’s performance. Then, one of the young male staff members drew close to Dr. Hashimoto with a defensive attitude and shouted, “What is the problem?” The practitioner realized the Honolulu Civil Beat must have had a similar experience because their office entrance has a double security camera to survey visitors.
Mr. Hill creates a scene to impress the surrounding office workers, showing that visitors tend to be violent and cowardly. They are the ones who use violence with a digital typing instrument to stab a person in the back.
Ms. Catherine Cruz of Hawaii Public Radio interviewed Mr. John Hill in the conversation program, and he made untrue comments that “Dr. Hashimoto was in the sixties in Hawaii.” Dr. Hashimoto came to Hawaii in 1971. The practitioner sent a certified letter on 11/17/21; two e-mails to contact Mr. John Hill were ignored.
On 2/9/23, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s article on B6 section “Bill requires media financial, donor information,” Hawaii Public Radio and Civil Beat could not comment as requested by the Star-Advertiser. Dr. Hashimoto searched for the Honolulu Civil Beat background help of the Healthcare Practitioners’ Rights group and found that the name of the false accuser was on the list of donors and supporters, a collusion act. However, Mr. John Hill deleted the false accuser’s name right after being noted by Dr. Hashimoto to Public Radio Hawaii about the donation. Still, Dr. Hashimoto obtained copies of the original lists with the false accuser’s name on them.
The Honolulu Civil Beat accepts that the sum to insult and defame a person is shameful, even in desperate journalism, and is an atrocious act. Editors should not be the curators of its corruption.
People supporting or contacted by the Honolulu Civil Beat should reconsider their request for an interview or answer for ongoing details; it is unfortunate to find the true colors of the journal with arrogance and untrustworthiness.
The Factual Statement, 10/23/24