Authorities have arrested the owner of a private hospital and put him in Briman Public Prison on charges of embezzlement, causing grave medical errors and the accumulation of debts amounting to SR75 million. The arrest came after the man convinced a number of citizens to enter into business partnerships with him in several projects, including setting up private health clinics and hospitals in Jeddah, and then fled with their money. In addition to being accused of committing fraud, he is also accused of gross negligence and is required to appear before the Medical Shariah Board after 10 medical malpractice suits were filed in a hospital that is owned and managed by him. In an exclusive with Al-Watan newspaper, sources said the accused was arrested earlier this month after several citizens filed complaints against the man accusing him of fleeing with their money. Authorities say the man is accused of owing a total of SR75 million. Sheikh Abdul Rahman Ajeery, chairman of the Medical Shariah Board in Jeddah, noted that the accused is required to appear before the board after doctors employed in his hospital committed numerous medical errors that resulted in injuries and deaths of citizens. “Among the 10 cases that are being considered by the Shariah Board in which doctors working in the arrested man's hospital are accused of medical malpractice, is a case filed by the parents of a newborn who wasn't given enough oxygen after birth,” said Ajeery while adding that the hospital was shuttered by authorities nearly a year ago but the man recently opened a clinic nearby that lacks qualified medical personnel and equipment.
