A doctor who forged a medical report and issued a prescription used as evidence in a drug consumption court case has received a reduced jail term.
A 26-year-old Egyptian man who was arrested for possessing and consuming Lyrica, a controlled anti-epileptic drug also used to relieve chronic pain, requested an Indian doctor, 42, to prescribe him the drug based on a fake diagnosis.
The Egyptian said he had been prescribed the drug by the doctor because he suffered from severe lower back pain. Prosecutors asked him to provide a medical report and the prescription.
On April 12 last year, the Egyptian man submitted the report and prescription to prosecutors, who later discovered that the report had been forged by the doctor. The prescription was also issued based on the forged report. Court records did not disclose whether or not the Indian doctor was promised anything in return for forging the documents.
The doctor, who works for a private clinic, was investigated by the Dubai Health Authority, which fined him Dh20,000 for violating work ethics. He was not present in court to face charges of forgery and use of forged documents, as well as prescribing controlled medicine based on a forged report.
The Egyptian and another Egyptian, 32, were convicted of aiding and abetting the doctor by asking him to issue the report and the prescription.
All three were convicted of providing prosecutors with misleading information about an ongoing criminal case. They were convicted and sentenced to six months in jail to be followed by deportation by the Dubai Criminal Court.
The Appeal Court reduced their sentence to three months in jail and ordered the cancellation of the deportation order.