Man arrested in Jeddah for unlicensed chiropractic clinic

JEDDAH: Jeddah police and the Health Ministry have arrested a man who had turned his apartment in Al-Bawadi district into a chiropractic clinic.

The apartment has been shut down until concerned authorities are done interrogating him. The director of the Compliance Department, Sultan Al-Mehmadi, said the man’s activities were being monitored since May 12, 2017, after information had been reported about malpractices in the apartment.

He added that the fake physician had been receiving six to seven patients per day, and taking SR500 ($133) from every new patient and SR300 from returning one.

“Inside the apartment, concerned authorities found a room dedicated to manual therapy, and seized… paper used for preparing invoices and medical reports, stamps for crediting these documents, a large number of lab test results, and X-rays requested by him,” Al-Mehmadi



said.

“The fake physician was found to be a 66-year-old Lebanese man. After the initial interrogation, he admitted to having been practicing this profession for 15 years.”

The apartment was equipped with medical devices and machines used for physical therapy, and featured medical certificates obtained from anonymous sources, Al-Mehmadi added.

The expatriate’s practice was not approved by the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties, and he was not licensed to practice a health-related profession. As such, he has violated Article 28 of the Law of Practicing Health Care Professions.

Jeddah’s Health Department urged citizens and residents to be cautious and not get deceived by such practices, which may cause more harm than good.

The department said it will not hesitate to arrest violators who manipulate and deceive people in need for treatment.