PETALING JAYA: A man accused of faking his medical qualifications and for misleading the public about his relief work in war-torn countries and disaster areas has apologised.

The statement, published on Winson Seow's Facebook page yesterday and written in Mandarin, read: “I have misled the reporters who interviewed me and I sincerely apologise. I hope everyone will forgive me.”

The 26-year-old's story came to light earlier this year when local dailies wrote about his inspiring tales of serving in Third World countries and an autobiography documenting his journey, To Serve With Love, was published.

However, there were several discrepancies in his educational background, including the universities he claimed to have graduated from, leading to a public outcry.

According to the statement, Seow said he had taken a three-year course in traditional Chinese medicine at the Beijing Chinese Medical University in China before signing up to do relief work with International Medical Relief in 2010, during which he rendered care in disaster areas in Senegal, Haiti and Peru.

“I decided to go to war zone countries to help people suffering there. I would like to clarify that I am just a trainee in treating people,” read the statement.

Earlier, Seow had claimed that he performed surgery on victims of bomb blasts and shootings.

Seow said he would return all the donations he had collected amounting to RM38,099.97 through his site, adding that all versions of his book would be removed from bookstores.

“I would like to apologise especially to those who bought my book, the publishers and sponsors and I hope that everyone can forgive me,” he said.

Donors can contact Corporate Tax Advisory Sdn Bhd at 06-336 9698 or e-mail shaunlee@myaccount.com.my to find out how to go about getting their donations back.