DUBAI // A woman has been arrested for performing cosmetic surgical operations without a licence at a fake clinic she set up in a hotel room.
The woman, from an Asian country, posed as a prominent plastic surgeon and performed a botched operation in a hotel room in Sharjah, said Dr Amin Al Amiri, assistant undersecretary for the public health policy and licensing sector at the Ministry of Health and Prevention.
The woman was arrested after “a large amount of money was transferred to the suspect’s bank account”, Dr Al Amiri said.
“We received a tip-off about an Asian woman conducting cosmetic surgery for women from the Gulf countries exclusively,” Dr Al Amiri said.
“She used to inject her clients with cosmetic substances that might cause death. The procedures used circulatory failure for one of the suspect’s clients.”
Sharjah Police, the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Health and Prevention coordinated for “several weeks” to arrest the suspect, whose clients were mostly tourists, Dr Al Amiri said.
Authorities arranged for a woman to pose as a client and book an appointment with the suspect at a Sharjah hotel, he said. The suspect asked the woman to send money in advance.
She showed the woman cosmetic substances including injections and said she was expecting a shipment of surgery products coming from Singapore, said Dr Al Amiri.
When she finished preparing her injections, ministry inspectors and a police team raided the hotel room.
Dr Al Amiri warned the public about fake doctors providing medical services in hotels and homes, advising people to go to doctors at hospitals and licensed clinics.
“Those posing as doctors use misleading advertisements that claim to offer cheap and safe cosmetic procedures,” he said.
nalramahi@thenational.ae