‘Bogus botox doc& the vials of beef gelatine’
Injections ‘could have killed 3 victims’
SCARED and in pain, a woman is almost unrecognisable after allegedly being given fake Botox by a “bogus” cosmetic surgeon.
A jury heard Marcelle King, 62, and two others suffered “potentially lifethreatening” reactions after being treated by Ozan Melin and that vials labelled as Botox and kept by his assistant contained beef gelatine.
An expert told the court the women were administered a noxious and extremely dangerous substance, adding that gelatine can be a serious allergen when injected.
Forensic plastic surgeon Colin Rayner added: “In my opinion these injections contained no active Botox. They certainly didn’t receive any of the properly commercially prepared Botox...
“Unpurified bovine gelatine is not an acceptable vehicle to transfer the drug.”
Mrs King was put on a drip in A&E after suffering anaphylactic shock following the injections in her face in 2013, the court heard. She said she felt like she had been “burnt with a cigarette end” after undergoing Ozan’s procedure.
Jozette Sheppard, 46, said the treatment left her unable to eat or speak properly for six months. Carol Kingscott, 57, said she paid Melin about £200 in 2011 for injections that left her so swollen she was hardly able to see.
Melin, 41, of Uxbridge, West London, who ran a mobile clinic, denies three counts of grievous bodily harm and fraud charges in relation to allegedly saying he was a medically trained doctor when the General Medical Council had no record of him.
His wife at the time, Lisa Bolster, 50, is also on trial on fraud charges, with the prosecution saying she was involved in the business. Bournemouth crown court in Dorset was told yesterday the vials containing beef gelatine were seized from her home in nearby Lytchett Matravers in 2014. The trial continues.