Indian Man Arrested for Allegedly Practicing Medicine Without License in Kuwait

An Indian man was arrested in Kuwait earlier this month for allegedly practicing medicine without license.

The 42-year-old Indian man has also been charged with selling medicines that were stolen from pharmacies of the Ministry of Health, Al-Anba daily reported.

The Indian man, who also owned a grocery shop, was arrested by the police after they received information from an undercover police officer about a suspect practicing medicine illegally, and also aborting fetuses, according to the report.

The man, who was allegedly prescribing medicines for minor injuries and illnesses, was arrested after police successfully caught him in a pre-planned trap.

The arrested suspect then helped the police arrest two Bangladeshi accomplices who were working in facilities affiliated with the Ministry of Health, the report added.

The two Bangladeshi nationals allegedly helped the Indian man by stealing medicines from the Ministry of Health pharmacies and supplying them to the “doctor.” However, the two denied all the charges, and claimed that another compatriot of theirs  supplied them medicine. All three are in police custody while the compatriot is still at large, the report added.

According to a statement of Ministry of Health, “basic and optional additional health/medical services provided by private medical institutions, clinics and hospitals shall be subject to the control of the Ministry of Health. Ministry officials duly delegated by the Ministry of Health shall have the right at any time to inspect the said institutions’ sites and clinics. They shall for such a purpose examine relevant books and records and draw up any violations committed which are contradictory to the provisions of this Law.”

Last year, over 500 Indian nationals were lodged in Kuwait jails over various crimes. The charges for most prisoners were associated with narcotics, drugs trading or consumption, theft, robbery, and fraud, among others. The death sentence of 15 Indians was commuted to life imprisonment by the Emir of Kuwait in 2017. The 15 prisoners were sentenced for drug-related charges, Arab Times reported last year.

The sentences of 53 Indian convicts out of the 119 was reduced from life imprisonment to 20 years. While 22 of them were immediately released, the sentence of 18 Indian prisoners was reduced to three quarters. The sentence for 25 prisoners was reduced by half, while it was reduced by a quarter for one of them.

About 7,850 Indians were housed in jails abroad as of Feb. 28, 2018. The highest number of Indians is in Saudi Arabia prisons, with 2,046 Indians jailed, followed by the United Arab Emirates (1,376), Nepal (852) and Pakistan (468).