File picture of the fake doctor in the court on April, 16, 2013. Photo Lehtikuva
A court on Tuesday intensified the punishment to a fake physician given by a lower court. The Court of Appeal ruled that the Tampere fake doctor be sentenced to prison. He was given conditional
imprisonment by a district court earlier.
Juhani Zarianov, 32, will now serve 22 months in prison for fraud and unauthorised practice.
The Helsinki Court of Appeal observed that disregard towards patients’ safety was a very serious crime and deserved a tougher penalty.
University of Tampere hospital. Photo Str - Lehtikuva
The District Court had in the past sentenced Zarianov to two-year’s conditional imprisonment for discharging duty as a physician without qualifications.
At that time, the district court ruled that the man be handed conditional sentence since he had no previous conviction.
The man had been acting as a doctor for a couple of months in the autumn of 2011 in Tampere. He was at that time working under the supervision of another doctor.
He is said to have purchased the fraudulent medical diplomas from Russia.
