Asian Man Accused of Forging University Degree to Obtain Dental License, Case Adjourned

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune - www.newsofbahrain.com

The High Criminal Court has adjourned the case of an Asian man accused of forging a university degree to obtain a dental license until July 15th. The court decided to postpone the hearing to allow the defendant to appoint a lawyer and to bring the defendant from prison.

The Public Prosecution has accused the 51-year-old defendant of manipulating the information system of the Ministry of Health's registration and licensing office between 2005 and 2022. The defendant allegedly altered a renewal form to falsely claim he was a qualified dental technician, despite the fact that his license was forged.

The case came to light when the National Health Regulatory Authority (NHRA) received an email from a person of the same nationality as the defendant, alleging that the defendant's degree was fake. The authority then hired a company to verify the authenticity of the degree, which confirmed that it was indeed forged.

The investigation revealed that the defendant submitted forged documents to the NHRA in 2006, based on which he was granted a dental license in 2007. He continued to renew the license until May 13th, 2022, when the forgery was discovered.

During the investigation, the defendant confessed to the charges and admitted that he had obtained the forged degree from a friend in their home country in 2004-2005.

He claimed that he needed a university degree to obtain a dental license and that he filled out a form with false information, claiming to have a diploma in dental technology from a university. He attached a copy of the forged document to the application, which led to the issuance of the dental license.

The Public Prosecution has confirmed that both the degree and the transcript submitted to the Ministry of Health were forged, leading to the issuance of the defendant's dental license.