Female doctor forges degree, fined Dh200,000 in Dubai

Dubai - She was convicted of practicing medicine with a licence she had wrongfully obtained.

A woman dermatologist, found guilty of forging and using fake diploma as well as other documents to practice medicine in Dubai, has lost her appeal against a six-month jail term after the Court of Appeals upheld a lower court order.
Public prosecution records show that the 38-year-old Canadian woman, originally from India, managed to have the licence to work as a dermatologist issued for her after filling in her application form with false information.
She used forged general medicine degree and diploma in specialisation when applying for the permit.
The defendant also threatened by email a company - specialised in verifying data and information - to hasten the process of verifying her documents and told the firm that in case the result was not positive, it would be closed.
The Court of First Instance earlier convicted her of charges of practicing medicine with a licence she had wrongfully obtained and committing forgery.
It sentenced her to a six-month jail term, to be followed by deportation.
She was also ordered to pay a Dh200,000 fine. The woman filed an appeal. The Court of Appeals upheld the lower court verdict.
The case dates back to March 6, 2016, and a complaint was filed at Al Rafaa police station.
According to an official from the Health Regulation Department, Dubai Health Authority (DHA), the defendant filed an application through the DHA e-system in order to get a permit to work as a dermatologist.
"She enclosed with her application two diplomas that she had studied medicine in the Unites States and a permit stating that she last practiced medicine in India, in addition to other certificates.
"Regarding the defendant, her name was not found on the website of the American Board and so her application was turned down.
"She filed another application in which she enclosed another document that her membership in the American Board had been renewed. Pending the results of the verification by the hired company, the defendant was authorised to start working on April 18, 2016," the official said.
According to the same witness, on November 12, 2016, the company issued its results that some of the documents presented by the accused were not authentic.
Her licence was suspended but when she followed up on her application and insisted her documents were not forged, she lost her licence permanently as it was revoked by the medical practices committee at the DHA. Legal action was taken against her.
"The medical practices committee at the DHA was notified about the matter and it recommended that her file be referred to the judicial authorities concerned for probe and they decided then on the documents presented and used by her, which turned out to be forged," the witness told the prosecution investigator.
The defendant can challenge the conviction ruling within 30 days at the Court of Cassation.
mary@khalejetimes.com 

• Dubai