Cops nab 4th bogus doctor
2005-12-07 13:23
Queenstown - Eastern Cape police have arrested a fourth person for dispensing stolen medicine to the elderly, the provincial health department said.
Police traced the woman - believed to be the masterminded behind the operation - to a garage in Butterworth, said health department spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo.
A professional nurse at a municipal clinic in Butterworth, she was arrested on Tuesday when health department officials pretended they wanted to buy medicine from her.
Earlier on Tuesday police acting on a tip-off arrested two women and a man.
One of the women was a nurse. The other, aged 69, was a retired nurse.
The four allegedly made over R100 000, charging R100 for a consultation, between August and December this year , said Kupelo.
TB patients could develop multi-drug resistance
Dispensing medicines and injections to treat ailments like arthritis and tuberculosis, they allegedly targeted elderly people at pension payout points at Hoyita village in the Cofimvaba area.
"We are going to lodge a complaint with the medicines control council against two pharmacies because it is alleged the suspects bought those injections from them," said Kupelo. It is very sad and unfortunate that these people will go around and exploit the elderly who only earn a R740 monthly social grant."
He said patients with tuberculosis could develop multi-drug resistance.
Kupelo said the "huge volume" of medicine confiscated would be sent for forensic investigation to determine whether it was stolen from the Port Elizabeth and Mthatha depots.
The four would be charged with fraud and possession of stolen medicine and were expected to appear soon in Cofimvaba magistrate's court.
- SAPA