Dubai, April 29: He had the same first name as a renowned Hollywood plastic surgeon, a coincidence he used to practise on unsuspecting clients in Dubai a specialisation he did not have. But the show is now over.
The Court of Misdemeanour here, presided by Judge Jamal Jbeili, on Wednesday sentenced a 40-year-old American general surgeon to two months in jail and deportation.
He got a month in jail for using a fake labour card that said had been sponsored by the American Academy Hospital for Plastic Surgery and another month for practising without due authorisation.
The general surgeon, who had not fulfilled the conditions of the Ministry of Health, pleaded guilty in the trial.
According to court records, the defendant shared the same first name with a Hollywood plastic surgeon and he made use of the latter’s popularity to draw clients and make money.
The Criminal Investigation Department arrested him on February 15 in Barsha upon a tip-off saying he was using his villa as a clinic.
He had been in the UAE for two years and used to entice clients of both sexes with very low rate for surgical procedures. He used the fake labour card to confirm his identity.
Fraud was first suspected when the American Academy Hospital learnt that a doctor might be impersonating the famous surgeon who was a regular guest there.
CID officers raided the premises of the fake surgeon and arrested him as he was meeting a police informant. His forged labour card was seized.
The defendant is said to have been a general surgeon. Patients who have fallen victim to him are reported to have told the police he used kitchen utensils and vessels in his work. His villa was described as looking like anything but a clinic.
–Agencies