An East London doctor who charged patients hundreds of rands for fake sick notes and who was nabbed by the Hawks, intends pleading not guilty to six charges of fraud, reports DispatchLIVE.
Dr Siphokazi Sokupa appeared briefly in the Regional Court on Monday before Magistrate Twanette Olivier, and after prosecutor Benedict Wilson read the six charges, said she would plead not guilty, offering no plea explanation. She was released on R3 000 bail.
According to the charge sheet, several patients whom Sokupa had examined and booked off between May 2018 and 2020 had allegedly been medically fit. In some cases she had booked patients off sick for two days.
Sokupa was arrested by the Hawks in May 2020 after she was captured on video issuing fake sick notes to an undercover Hawks officer.
The Dispatch reported that an undercover Hawks officer had told the doctor he needed a sick note for three days, which Sokupa then allegedly issued without conducting a medical examination. Sokupa would apparently be given an instruction from the patient as to what kind of illness to note down.
Investigating officer Captain Raymond Buys testified that the Hawks had investigated and made the arrest after receiving numerous complaints from business owners and employers about questionable sick notes.
He said she also backdated sick notes for her patients, and charged between R350 and R400 for the notes.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Eastern Cape doctor arrested by Hawks for fake sick notes
HPCSA investigating doctors issuing false sick notes
HPCSA lists bogus medical practitioners in Cape Town