Doctor Gets 3-Year Probation on Drug Charge

A former Torrance family doctor who surrendered his medical license after pleading no contest to illegally dispensing diet pills was sentenced to three years probation Thursday on a charge of cocaine possession.

Dr. Martin Bain, 62, pleaded no contest in May to the cocaine charge stemming from a November, 1988, traffic stop by a sheriff’s deputy, who told officials that Bain was driving erratically on Palos Verdes Drive North.

After stopping Bain, the officer said he found a syringe, a vial containing 4.93 grams of liquid cocaine and other drug paraphernalia in Bain’s car and jacket.

Bain stopped practicing medicine last May after undercover medical regulators charged that he prescribed diet pills for them without first conducting a complete medical examination. He was fined $5,640 and placed on three years probation in that case.

Bain told the judge on Thursday that he has retired from medicine, has put his practice up for sale and is training to become a real estate broker. A probation officer noted that he is living off more than $1 million in personal assets.

Several friends, including Redondo Beach City Atty. Gordon Phillips, wrote letters of reference for Bain, praising him as an upstanding member of the South Bay community who took a bad turn after overworking himself for too long.