Overview:
A former physician has been sentenced after admitting to forging a colleague’s signature to obtain controlled painkillers, with the Palau Supreme Court ordering her out of the country as part of a plea deal.
By: Eoghan Olkeriil Ngirudelsang
KOROR, Palau (July 6, 2026) — A Filipino physician who admitted to forging a colleague’s signature on prescriptions for controlled painkillers has been sentenced to five years in prison, suspended, and ordered to leave Palau.
Dr. Maria Lyza Gepty, formerly a practitioner at Belau Medical Clinic, pleaded guilty to two counts of forgery in the second degree in a plea agreement accepted by the Palau Supreme Court Trial Division on June 29.
The case, filed as Criminal Case No. 26-007, centered on two incidents in December 2024. Court findings state that Gepty forged the signature of longtime colleague Dr. Wilkie Capili on prescription forms for pain medication on Dec. 6 and Dec. 20. The forged prescriptions were presented as valid authorizations, and the drugs were obtained from the Belau National Hospital Pharmacy. Gepty told the court, through counsel, that she used the medications herself to treat back pain.
Gepty appeared at the June 29 plea hearing with private counsel Yukiwo Dengokl. Assistant Attorney General L. David represented the government. The court found her guilty plea was made knowingly and voluntarily and that the case record supported it.
Under the written plea agreement, filed May 28, Gepty received a five-year suspended sentence — the maximum prison term for a Class C felony forgery charge — and was placed on probation with mandatory conditions until her departure from Palau. The court also fined her $8,000, directing the clerk of courts to apply her cash bail toward the fine and return the remaining bail amount to Belau Medical Clinic.
The court ordered the immediate release of Gepty’s passport so she could leave on the next scheduled direct flight to the Philippines, as represented by her counsel. The Probation Office is required to file a status report confirming her departure as soon as practicable. The court warned that any violation of her probation conditions could result in revocation and imposition of the full five-year sentence.
The plea agreement resolved the case without a trial. Several flights to the Philippines have departed since Gepty’s sentencing, and she is believed to have already left Palau with her family. Patients at Belau Medical Clinic have described her as known for her warmth with patients during her time practicing there.
