The man, who was employed at a private hospital, carried out cosmetic surgery on the women who were obese and wanted to have their abdominal distention reduced, Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper reported.

“The authority has indicted the doctor and the hospital after finding out that he did not have a license to carry out cosmetic surgery at the hospital,” the Ministry of Health said in a statement.

The ministry also issued a circular on Thursday banning all private hospitals in the western region from conducting cosmetic surgery on obese women.

Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Ojairi, head of the Saudi Shariah Medical Authority in Jeddah, said the doctor worked as head of surgery at the hospital. He added that the doctor carried out surgery on a woman in her 20s to reduce her abdominal cavity. “After the surgery, the woman developed some complications; there was also a leakage of gastric juice that led to her death,” he said.

Sheikh Abdul Rahman said the doctor abandoned the patient without ensuring proper medical care for her and without leaving another doctor in attendance. He also drew attention to the legal action taken against the doctor five years ago. “The doctor’s license had been revoked and a SR100,000 fine had been slapped on him. However, he managed to get revocation annulled from the court of grievances,” he said.

Sheikh Abdul Rahman said the doctor had allegedly committed another medical error last year and was fined SR60,000, but managed to broker a reconciliation deal with the relatives of the dead woman and eventually escaped from being barred from practicing.

Another woman also died earlier this year due to an alleged medical error following surgery to reduce abdominal cavity. But her relatives did not file a complaint.

Meanwhile, Naif Al-Mosbil, lawyer for one of the doctor’s patients Maha Al-Qahtani, said the issue involves violation of both Ministry of Health rules and human rights. He urged the authorities to hand the doctor the maximum punishment once he is caught.

“Strict punitive measures should also be taken against the hospital’s management for allowing him to practice without proper licenses,” he added.