Dubai: An American plastic surgeon has denied impersonating a top American doctor to Hollywood stars and practising medicine illegally in the UAE, the Dubai Appeals Court heard yesterday.
The 40-year-old suspect, S.G.M., told Presiding Judge Adnan Al Farra when he defended himself in court: "I am an American surgeon and these charges are based on incorrect accusations … I am not guilty."
S.G.M. handed a written defence to the judge who will issue a verdict on August 30.
The surgeon was appealing his primary conviction, for which he was sentenced to two months in jail followed by deportation.
The Dubai Misdemeanours Court had convicted him of unlawfully practising medicine and impersonating Dr Steven B. Hopping.
He had also been found guilty of forging a labour card from the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery Hospital that bore Hopping's name.
The court jailed him for practising medicine without obtaining proper permission from the Ministry of Health and without adhering to the required conditions.
Earlier this month, the accused was also jailed for one month for performing an illegal plastic surgery on a Palestinian woman.
Senior Prosecutor Shoaib Ahli questioned the defendant on the allegations against him. The defendant denied endangering the life of the 27-year-old Palestinian, H.S.
H.S. claimed in her prosecution statement that she paid the accused Dh1,000 for a facelift and two injections.
She sustained swelling in the area where the injections were administered.
In July, the Dubai Misdemeanours Court sentenced the defendant to three months in jail for accidentally injuring a 31-year-old Romanian woman, whom he met last year.
