Tebogo Msimanga |
A 38-year-old foreign national bogus medical doctor, Ilunga Pierre Mwenze appeared before the Hendrina Magistrates’ Court on Monday, 11 April 2023. He was arrested during a joint intelligence-driven operation conducted by the Middelburg-based Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation team together with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) at Hendrina Med 24 on Wednesday, 5 April 2023.
Mpumalanga Hawks spokesperson Dineo Sekgotodi says it was reported that on Tuesday, 4 April 2023, the suspect who was monitored by the police for some time was finally found on duty. “The said doctor was interviewed by the HPCSA inspectors who discovered that he was not registered with the council as a medical practitioner. However, the ‘doctor’ allegedly informed the inspectors that he had his registration papers and he was instructed to produce the papers but he failed”.
Sekgotodi said the fake doctor was then arrested and charged with contravention of the Health Professions Act. “Patients’ files and registers were confiscated for further investigation”.
The accused was released on R5 000 bail and the case is postponed to 13 April 2023 for further investigation.
