Arrested for Issuing Fake Sick Certificates
A medical doctor and her assistant from East London in the Eastern Cape have been arrested allegedly for issuing fake medical certificates to patients. SABC News reports that it’s alleged that the 67-year-old doctor charges about R350 per certificate. She and her 37-year-old assistant made a brief appearance in the East London Magistrate’s Court on fraud charges.
The arrest is a conclusion of an investigation conducted by the Hawks and crime intelligence. The report says it originates from complaints that the police received from a certain government department about a suspicious medical certificate issued by the suspect.
Hawks spokesperson Anelisa Feni says they decided to send an undercover police officer to investigate and the officer received sick notes on more than one occasion without examination. The undercover agent has on two occasions during this month received the sick notes from the doctor – one was back-dated and the other post-dated.
The suspects have been released on warning and will appear in court again on 19 June.