The department said it initiated an internal investigation after Dr Aidid Nawawi Ghazali had chronicled his abuse on social media last Sunday.

In a statement today, department director Dr Feisul Idzwan Mustapha said a committee was set up on June 4, the day the abuse had taken place, and found the complaint to be legitimate.

“The hospital director issued the medical officer a letter of reprimand on July 31,” he said.

A copy of the investigation report was also sent to Aidid on Aug 1.

Feisul said the department also established an independent committee to investigate the incident.

“The health ministry views bullying and aggression seriously. We have zero tolerance for any form of violence in the workplace,” he said, adding that it had offered Aidid counselling.

In 2020, it was reported that 66.9% of the doctors in the country had admitted to being victims of bullying while serving in the public service sector, and that the most affected were those aged between 26 and 35.

Statistics by the Malaysian Medical Association showed that many of them were trainee doctors.

In October, the health ministry said it would issue guidelines for managing workplace bullying for its staff through the National Centre of Excellence for Mental Health.