By Dorcas Ting
KUCHING, July 6: A 20-year-old man was charged with impersonating a doctor at the Vaccine Administration Centre (PPV) at Sarawak Indoor Stadium in Petra Jaya.
The accused was charged under Section 170 for impersonating a doctor of Sarawak General Hospital (SGH).
Magistrate Zubaidah Sharkawi fixed August 17 to hear the accused’s social report.
According to the facts of the case, on June 16, the accused wore maroon colored scrubs and appeared at the PPV at Sarawak Indoor Stadium and introduced himself as a doctor from the SGH neurology department. He told the complainant that he was asked by a doctor to be in charge of the Adverse Effect Following Immunisation (AEFI) department. The complainant also saw the accused on duty at the AEFI department.
On June 17, the accused told the complainant and others at the PPV that he had gotten approval from the department head to volunteer at the centre for one week.
On June 19, the accused was seen at the centre’s registration counter and was giving medical advice to the public without referring to the medical officer. The accused even asked the complainant to add him into the PPV’s WhatsApp group to discuss the duty roster.
The whole incident came to light when a volunteer at the PPV, whose husband is a medical officer at the SGH neurology department found out from her husband that the accused is not a doctor from the said department.
The accused was arrested by the police at the Sarawak Indoor Stadium PPV at about 6.35pm on July 1.
Upon investigation by the police, the accused was found to have a prior history of impersonating a doctor, by wearing scrubs, a stethoscope, and bringing pulse oximeter and even had his own seal at SGH for around 32 times between January to June, 2021. — DayakDaily
