KZN man allegedly used forged MBChB degree to register as doctor

On Wednesday, a man from KwaZulu-Natal named Reshal Dayanand, 39, made his first appearance in the Durban Specialised Commercial Crime Court. He faces charges of fraud, forgery and contravening the Health Professions Act and Electronic Communications and Transactions Act. The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, known as the Hawks, are the ones who brought these charges against him.

According to the Hawks, Dayanand studied at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) from 2007 to 2015. However, he was academically excluded in 2013 due to poor grades and was allowed to return to the university in 2015 by the Dean's discretion. Despite this, he did not complete his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) degree as he failed one module.

Despite this failure, Dayanand allegedly managed to register as a doctor with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) by committing fraud. As a result, he was assigned as an intern doctor at Northdale Hospital in Pietermaritzburg in 2016. During his time there, he earned a total of R637,087.75.

To cover his tracks, Dayanand allegedly worked with an unknown UKZN official to create a fake academic record that showed he had passed all the necessary modules when in reality, he hadn't. The Hawks allege that Dayanand did not attend a graduation ceremony, but he still received a fraudulent MBChB degree certificate, making him appear as a qualified doctor.

The Hawks stated that the investigation confirmed Dayanand did not meet the requirements for the MBChB degree set by UKZN. Therefore, he has been criminally charged and appeared before the court. Dayanand was released on warning after his court appearance. The case has been postponed until November 19.