Forbidden treatment: Fake blue pills could guarantee hard time for quack
Manzoor is charged with swindling people of millions of rupees in the past five years.
ISLAMABAD:
Claiming to be a foreign qualified fertility specialist when he was not even a certified medical practitioner, a quack landed in police lock-up after defrauding people of millions over a five-year period while exposing them to serious diseases and health risks.
Margalla police on Wednesday arrested ‘Doctor’ Manzoor and impounded a large cache of contraband drugs, mostly steroids and sexual-aid medicines.
At least thirty people approached the police and, subsequently, the Supreme Court of Pakistan complaining that they were deprived of millions of rupees by the fake doctor.
At least six complainants suffered severe kidney damage due to the medicines given to them by ‘Doctor’ Manzoor.
“Doctors told them that their kidneys were almost destroyed,” said a police official.
Manzoor’s clinic in F-8/1, named American Clinic, is where the quack used to attract childless couples, especially those wanting sons, while charging them between two and three hundred thousand rupees.
“Aulad-e-nareena ke khuwahish mand bikul pareshan na hon” (Those with no sons have no need to worry now), read a banner outside his clinic.
In his credentials, he had claimed to have foreign degrees from the United Kingdom and United States of America, including
one medical doctorate and an FRCS.
The fake doctor had also claimed that he had worked as an associate to a number of renowned doctors in the UK and the US.
He had also claimed to have served as personal secretary to former US president Ronald Reagan.
Islamabad’s Drug Inspector Muhammad Shafiq said that most of the medicines including Viagra, testosterone and others were sex-related and contained adverse side effects.
“Steroids cause 20 major adverse affects, ranging from high blood pressure to malfunctioning kidneys and liver, weight increase, redness of skin and others,” said Drug Inspector Muhammad Shafiq.
He said the fake doctor failed to produce any document supporting his claim of being a legal medical practitioner.
“All the drugs that he was storing at his clinic were smuggled and unregistered,” added the drug inspector.
Authorities moved against him after receiving multiple complaints from his victims. National Accountability Bureau (NAB) were the first moved, however, they referred the case to Pakistan Medical and Dental Council as it was out of their purview.
The District Health Officer, along with officials of police and district administration, started reconnaissance of the clinic and collected evidence against the fake doctor after he denied being a medical practitioner when he was first approached a few months ago.
He had also moved his office from F-8/1 to F-8/2, where he was running his business secretly. City Superintendant of Police Illyas and Assistant Commissioner Imran Ali Sultan raided his residence in F-8/2 and arrested him and three members of his staff, Abdul Razzaq, Naveed Ahmed and Safdar Khan.
“The police and administration had obtained statements from the complainant on stamp paper so they do not back away,” said a police official involved in reconnaissance of the fake doctor’s whereabouts.
‘Doctor’ Manzoor Hussain will be produced before a court on Thursday.
Police said they want to question him further to help recover the money he swindled.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 21st, 2011.
Claiming to be a foreign qualified fertility specialist when he was not even a certified medical practitioner, a quack landed in police lock-up after defrauding people of millions over a five-year period while exposing them to serious diseases and health risks.
Margalla police on Wednesday arrested ‘Doctor’ Manzoor and impounded a large cache of contraband drugs, mostly steroids and sexual-aid medicines.
At least thirty people approached the police and, subsequently, the Supreme Court of Pakistan complaining that they were deprived of millions of rupees by the fake doctor.
At least six complainants suffered severe kidney damage due to the medicines given to them by ‘Doctor’ Manzoor.
“Doctors told them that their kidneys were almost destroyed,” said a police official.
Manzoor’s clinic in F-8/1, named American Clinic, is where the quack used to attract childless couples, especially those wanting sons, while charging them between two and three hundred thousand rupees.
“Aulad-e-nareena ke khuwahish mand bikul pareshan na hon” (Those with no sons have no need to worry now), read a banner outside his clinic.
In his credentials, he had claimed to have foreign degrees from the United Kingdom and United States of America, including
one medical doctorate and an FRCS.
The fake doctor had also claimed that he had worked as an associate to a number of renowned doctors in the UK and the US.
He had also claimed to have served as personal secretary to former US president Ronald Reagan.
Islamabad’s Drug Inspector Muhammad Shafiq said that most of the medicines including Viagra, testosterone and others were sex-related and contained adverse side effects.
“Steroids cause 20 major adverse affects, ranging from high blood pressure to malfunctioning kidneys and liver, weight increase, redness of skin and others,” said Drug Inspector Muhammad Shafiq.
He said the fake doctor failed to produce any document supporting his claim of being a legal medical practitioner.
“All the drugs that he was storing at his clinic were smuggled and unregistered,” added the drug inspector.
Authorities moved against him after receiving multiple complaints from his victims. National Accountability Bureau (NAB) were the first moved, however, they referred the case to Pakistan Medical and Dental Council as it was out of their purview.
The District Health Officer, along with officials of police and district administration, started reconnaissance of the clinic and collected evidence against the fake doctor after he denied being a medical practitioner when he was first approached a few months ago.
He had also moved his office from F-8/1 to F-8/2, where he was running his business secretly. City Superintendant of Police Illyas and Assistant Commissioner Imran Ali Sultan raided his residence in F-8/2 and arrested him and three members of his staff, Abdul Razzaq, Naveed Ahmed and Safdar Khan.
“The police and administration had obtained statements from the complainant on stamp paper so they do not back away,” said a police official involved in reconnaissance of the fake doctor’s whereabouts.
‘Doctor’ Manzoor Hussain will be produced before a court on Thursday.
Police said they want to question him further to help recover the money he swindled.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 21st, 2011.