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A B.C. massage therapist who tried to apologize to a patient for being late to an appointment by showing up at a client's home with a bottle of wine has been suspended for a week.

According to April 24 College of Massage Therapists of BC decision, Craig Hall is also on the hook for $500 to cover the cost of the investigation into his actions.

The decision says the Surrey-based registered massage therapist had a regular client who he'd massaged almost 70 times over the course of 2021.

However, on Nov. 16 that year, Hall arrived three or four minutes late for a 7:30 a.m. appointment and the patient had already left by the time Hall arrived.

The decision says this was the second time he'd been late for a 7:30 a.m. appointment.

As an apparent apology for being late, Hall bought the client a bottle of wine, a liquor store gift card and dog treats for the patient’s dog.

He looked up the patient's address and headed around that afternoon to drop off the gift and apologize.

The decision says he rang the doorbell and called but there was no answer so he dropped the gift off on the front porch and sent a text message apologizing.

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However, the actions didn't impress the regulator who deemed it to be professional misconduct.

"(The regulator) considered Mr. Hall’s admitted conduct to be serious, involving numerous breaches of professional requirements," the decision reads.

The regulator says that looking up the patient's address was a "serious breach" of patient privacy.

"Further, the (regulator) noted that Mr. Hall failed to maintain professional boundaries with the patient when he put together the gift for the patient and personally delivered the gift to the patient’s place of residence," the decision reads.

Ultimately, the massage therapy regulator issued Hall a one-week suspension and ordered him to pay $500 in costs.

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— This story was corrected May 30, 2023 after the College of Massage Therapists of BC revised the regulation decision. 

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