'Fraud' psychiatrist: doubts over PHD

Mohamed Shakeel Siddiqui. Photo / David Kerr

Police who allege the credentials of a Waikato District Health Board psychiatrist are fake are now questioning his PHD.

Mohamed Shakeel Siddiqui originally only faced one charge of obtaining his job at the DHB by deception when he first appeared in court in July.

But when he reappeared in the Hamilton District Court on Friday, six further charges were laid, including two of producing and using a forged document.

Siddiqui, 54, was remanded without plea to reappear next month.

The new charge relates to his Neurology PHD which Siddiqui claims he obtained from the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in 2011.

Police now claim the document is fraudulent and that he used it to get his job at the DHB between August 12, 2014 and January 22, 2015.

The other fraud charge alleges Siddiqui passed off an immigration document, namely a New Zealand Work Visa, knowing it to be obtained fraudulently.

In total he now faces five obtaining by deception charges which also relate to work visa, his NZ Medical Council Provisional Vocational Licence in the field of psychiatry between September 9, 2014 and May 22, 2015, and a his salary and expenses from his job at the DHB between January 19, 2015 and July 14, 2015.

Some of the charges are category three offences meaning if he was found guilty he could go to jail for up to seven years.

Siddiqui's lawyer Kerry Burroughs told the Herald both he and police were having trouble trying to verify his client's credentials with United States authorities.

He believed the extra charges were a procedural move to progress the case, but didn't believe they had the proof yet to prove the charges.

Siddiqui was employed by the DHB between January and July 14, this year.

Mr Burroughs claims his client got out of sorts with the DHB after emailing his managers outlining his concerns about the admission of an acute patient.

Several days later he receives official letter confirming his supervisor's withdrawal meaning Siddiqui can no longer work.

He was arrested and charged a week later.