Fake doctor jailed after being caught at it again

65-year-old Rasheed Mahfouz was arrested in Cape Town for impersonating a doctor, twice!

His case has taken a new turn as his bail application has been denied.

Mahfouz, who was removed from the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) register almost 10 years ago, now faces similar charges to those he faced five years ago.

The arrest of Mahfouz came as a result of a law enforcement operation targeting unregistered doctors in the Western Cape in 2018.

He pleaded guilty to fraud and was given a suspended sentence of five years’ imprisonment, on the condition that he did not commit fraud again within the next five years.

Earlier this year, the HPCSA received information that Mahfouz was practicing as a doctor in Philippi, Cape Town.

In a joint operation with the police, the HPCSA went to Mahfouz’s office, where he allegedly invited them into his consultation room.

When informed that they were HPCSA inspectors, Mahfouz claimed to be the administrator at the practice and said that he would call the doctor who ran the practice when patients arrived.

However, when asked to call the doctor to confirm this, Mahfouz did not comply and admitted to seeing patients in the capacity of a doctor.

Judge James Lekhuleni, in denying Mahfouz’s bail application, emphasized the importance of the suspended sentence given to him five years ago.

He stated that Mahfouz now faces similar charges to those he faced before, and therefore it is crucial to consider the previous conviction and the conditions of the suspended sentence.

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