The prescription of ‘Dr’ Sujon Debnath Apan clearly states that he has secured Diagnostic Medical Sonography (DMS) degree from Dhaka. It is written in his visiting card as well as in signboard that he is also an expert in neonatal sector.
However, he confessed to a mobile court that he studied only upto fifth grade and with this little knowledge he has been treating patients and prescribing medicines for the last two months in the city’s Sagarika area.
On November 7, a mobile court managed to catch the fake physician and fined him Tk1 lakh.
Like Sujon Debnath Apan, Sirajullah Chowdhury who really does not have any degree was also treating patients.
On November 2, when the mobile court raided chamber of the fake physician located in C&B area under Chandgaon police station, Siraujullah confessed that he studied upto Secondary School Certificate level. The quack also informed the mobile court that he had received training from various companies on healthcare. Later, the mobile court fined the imposter Tk30,000.
On the same day, a mobile court fined Basudeb Dutt Tk20,00 after raiding his drugstore in Bangla Bazar area. But later, he managed to flee from the scene.
Putting numerous strange degrees on signboards, quacks are deceiving patients, thanks to lax monitoring of regulatory authorities like the Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council (BMDC) and Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
According to Chittagong district administration, six fake physicians were nabbed from different places of the port city from October 29 to November 7.
Talking to Dhaka Tribune, Executive Magistrate Ruhul Amin, said: “The fake physicians usually choose densely populated areas where they can betray people of low-income group such as apparel workers, day labourers and rickshaw pullers.”
“All the nabbed fake physicians at least had a drugstore of his own from where they deliver services to patients. They also force patients to buy medicines from their drugstores at higher prices,” the executive magistrate said.
SM Nazer Hossain, president of Chittagong Division of Consumers’ Association of Bangladesh, said: “We have to go for a remedial measure instead of a temporary one. Conducting mobile court’s drive against quacks is tantamount to only healing disease for the time being.”
Referring to the BMDC act, he called for accommodating provision of awarding exemplary punishment to the errant physicians in the particular law since the act is too lenient to curb the malpractice.
Dr Mohammad Azizur Rahman Siddique, civil surgeon of Chittagong, said: “I have asked all my officials to launch mobile courts on a massive scale under the leadership of upazila nirbahi officers at every upazila.”
