2 nabbed in Saudi Arabia for practising medicine without licence
Offenders claimed on social media to treat infertility and speech disorders
Cairo: Saudi health authorities said two persons had been arrested for posing as health practitioners on social media and practising medicine without eligibility and licensing.
The Ministry of Health said the two illegal doctors had been exposed in H'ail region in north-western Saudi Arabia.
One of them is a Saudi woman, who cast herself in a social media post as a folk medicine practitioner and an expert in folk potions.
She claimed to be able to treat infertility, gland disorders and clots without having a professional practice licence.
The other offender is an Arab expatriate, who claimed in an online advert to practise medicine as a specialist in treating speech and learning difficulties without having a licence to practise the profession.
The ministry has urged the public to seek healthcare service at licensed institutions and at hands of medical professionals.
Members of the public were also advised against self-styled healers who manipulate social media to lure patients, putting their health and safety at danger with harmful treatments and potions.
The ministry has warned against adverts promoting unhealthy practices on social media, vowing legal action against the violators.
Under Saudi law, practising a profession without a licence is punishable by up to six months in prison or a maximum fine of SR100,000 or both penalties. This also applies to a person, who illegally claims the title of a medical doctor or a pharmacist.