Pharmacist denies conflict of interest with man behind Essendon doping scandal

Pharmacist faces NT tribunal over alleged conflict of interest with disgraced sports scientist Stephen Dank Fri 7 Aug 2026 at 5:14pm In short: The Pharmacy Board of Australia has accused a Darwin pharmacist of inappropriately dispensing performance-enhancing drugs and doing so on the basis of a conflict of interest. The conflict of interest is alleged to have been between pharmacist Yong Leong, local GP Satbir Aulakh and Stephen Dank, the man at the centre of the Essendon football club doping scandal. What's next? The dispute is due to return to the Northern Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal on September 4. Australia's pharmacy regulator has accused a Darwin pharmacist of "professional misconduct", claiming he dispensed therapeutic hormone medication "on the basis of a conflict of interest" with disgraced sports scientist Stephen Dank. In documents filed with the Northern Territory Civil and Adminstrative Tribunal (NTCAT), the Pharmacy Board of Australia (PBA) alleges Darwin pharmacist Yong Leong, aka Marcus Leong, inappropriately dispensed medication in 2017 that "increase[s] muscle mass and strength" and "enhance[s] energy and stamina". The board also alleges Mr Leong dispensed the medication while holding a conflict of interest with Mr Dank — who was handed a lifetime ban by the AFL in 2015 following the Essendon supplement scandal — and Darwin GP Satbir Aulakh. A warrant for Mr Dank's arrest has been in place since 2020, after he was charged by NT Police with fraud, forgery and causing serious harm. 'Inappropriate dispensing' of performance-enhancing drugs In documents filed with NTCAT, the PBA alleges Mr Leong dispensed the medication without ensuring it was safe and "clinically appropriate". The board also alleges Mr Leong would dispense repeat or multiple prescriptions "in the same transaction", without the "specific direction of the prescriber", Dr Aulakh. The board also claims Mr Leong mailed medication to patients interstate on 10 occasions "without consideration of the safety and efficacy of doing so in such quantities and combinations". In his response filed with the tribunal, Mr Leong said while he did not ensure the patients had undergone clinical assessments by Dr Aulakh, he did enquire about the reasons for the patients' prescriptions. "[Mr Leong] was told that the medications were for hormonal deficiency confirmed on saliva test arranged by the prescriber, Dr Aulakh," the response letter said. Mr Leong denied dispensing repeats or multiple prescriptions without a specific direction from Dr Aulakh or "without exceptional circumstances". Dr Aulakh currently has strict conditions on his medical registration, ranging from a requirement for audits and supervised practice, to a prohibition on access to certain medications including anabolic steroids, "any substance containing testosterone" and peptides. The pharmacist also said he confirmed over the phone the names and postal addresses of all the interstate patients he mailed medication to. Pharmacist met with Stephen Dank and Darwin GP The PBA alleges the conflict of interest began at a meeting between Mr Leong, Mr Dank and Dr Aulakh in February of 2017, at which Mr Dank was introduced as "Dr Dank". "Dr Aulakh and Mr Dank proposed entering into a partnership with [Mr Leong] to create a sterile compounding lab next to [their Ageless Health] Clinic to dispense medication solely for the clients at the Clinic," the initiating application reads. The board alleges Mr Dank handed Mr Leong a "bundle of computer generated prescriptions" which the pharmacist then dispensed, including 52 quantities of the "relevant medication" to 12 patients, with some dispensed to a patient named as "Stephen Danks". In one instance, the PBA alleges Mr Leong dispensed "4x the quantity of Primoteston Depot Injection" to two interstate patients, despite no repeats of the medication being authorised. Mr Leong is also alleged to have later dispensed 25 quantities of relevant medication to four interstate patients with "no evidence that they paid for freight". Pharmacist denies conflict of interest In his filed response, Mr Leong denies having a "professional, or personal relationship with Dr Aulakh or Mr Dank which may have affected his care of any patient or client". "The business discussion with Dr Aulakh and Mr Dank on 23 February 2017 only amounted to them enquiring whether [Mr Leong] would want to open a sterile compounding pharmacy next to the Clinic," the document reads. "There was never any proposal that Dr Aulakh or Mr Dank would hold any financial or other interest in the proposed sterile compounding pharmacy. "The only foreseeable benefit to [Mr Leong] of opening the sterile compounding pharmacy is that it would have been the only sterile compounding pharmacy in the Northern Territory at that time and would have been in close physical proximity to a medical clinic which, based on Dr Aulakh and Mr Dank’s advice, had a large number of patients who needed the services of a sterile compounding pharmacy." Mr Leong claims he "never took seriously the idea" anyway. The pharmacist admitted he dispensed the repeat doses "at the direction of Mr Dank, while incorrectly believing that Mr Dank was a medical doctor", while accepting the prescriptions were issued by Dr Aulakh. Mr Leong said Mr Dank told him in the presence of Dr Aulakh all the repeat authorisations needed to be "dispensed at once" due to a local "shortage". "Dr Aulakh did not intervene or correct Mr Dank and the respondent [Mr Leong] reasonably assumed that Dr Aulakh agreed with Mr Dank and took that as an implied authorisation from the prescriber," the response reads. In the document, Mr Leong says he became aware in March 2017 that Mr Dank had been "investigated or disciplined by regulatory authorities; [that] Mr Dank was not a medical doctor; and [that] Mr Dank was associated with motorcycle gangs". He says he then "resolved" not to dispense any further medication from prescriptions given to him by Mr Dank, but later admitted to continuing to dispense the medication to local patients for another five months. Mr Leong claims the patients "generally advised" him the medications were prescribed for hormone disorders and that "besides one", none of the referred patients "presented in any way" that indicated they were using the medication for "sports performance enhancement" or "bodybuilding". If the tribunal finds Mr Leong engaged in "professional misconduct", potential penalties range from a caution to the suspension or cancellation of his registration. The matter is due to return to NTCAT on September 4 for a directions hearing.