MADINAH, 23 December — A provincial court here has sentenced a quack to one year in jail and 140 lashes. He will be deported after serving the jail term.
The Pakistani national was found guilty of treating patients without a license and supplying medication not registered in the Kingdom.
The man treated patients for abortions, kidney failure, liver cirrhosis and severe stomach pain.
The doctor was arrested following several complaints against him. He claimed his medicine was prepared with imported ingredients and had been tested in laboratories.
According to an informed source, 35 people, including Saudis and expatriates, had lodged complaints against the "doctor", who picked his victims from rural areas. He changed his center of operation and residence frequently to evade detection.
A pregnant woman who was treated by the quack had to undergo emergency surgery to save her life. Some of the woman’s friends had taken her to him for treatment for a chronic stomach problem.
A strange concoction administered by the doctor did serious damage to the embryo growing in the woman’s womb. Doctors had to remove the fetus to save the woman’s life, the source added.
Police forced the man to pay back the fees he had taken from his "patients". One of his victims said he had paid SR10,000 to the doctor.
