MADINAH, 10 May — An expatriate laundry man posing as a doctor has been sentenced to six months in prison and would be deported immediately after the completion of the prison term. The penal measures were approved by Health Minister Osama Shubokshi. The nationality and the name of the offender was not revealed.
Abdullah Al-Mutairi, supervisor general in the Ministry of Health, said the impostor, who was originally a laundry assistant, later changed his sponsorship and profession to work as a salesman. The salesman, from a South Asian country, again changed his profession to appear, finally, in the guise of a skilled doctor.
He set up his clinic in a poor district in Jeddah while his victims were fellow countrymen who resided in the neighborhood. He conducted medical check-up, diagnosed and prescribed medicines for every patient and type of disease.
Though he displayed a diploma in pharmacology, the fake doctor confessed to the inquiry officials that he practiced the profession without, either the required certificates or license. Makkah Governor Prince Abdul Majeed ordered the punishment due under the existing regulations, according to an informed source.
The source, however, said the laborer did not specify how many years he had been practicing as a doctor. The officials who arrested him seized several medical preparations and apparatus that offered additional evidences to his illegal practices.
It was reported earlier from Riyadh that another expat ‘doctor’ was black-listed when the Saudi Board of Medical Specialization found that his medical certificates were forged.
The fake doctor, who worked in a private clinic, carried a forged degree in general surgery issued from the Osmania University in India in 1992.
When the doctor was asked to appear before the board for an examination, he fled the Kingdom citing some personal reasons. The same man came back to work in the clinic but this time with a new passport and degree.
His new degree was issued from another institution called the NTR College for Medical Sciences in 1997. The certificate was discovered to be a forgery when he appeared before the Saudi Medical Board that examined his certificates and tested his professional skill.
