Bogus cosmetic doctor ‘maimed woman patient with fake Botox’
A BOGUS cosmetic surgeon disfigured one woman and left two more in constant pain by giving them fake Botox, a court heard yesterday.
Ozan Melin, 40, allegedly told patients he had trained in America but the General Medical Council had no record of him.
He is said to have given Marcelle King, Jozette Sheppard and Carol Kingscott dangerous injections that caused severe swelling and bruising.
Mrs King was forced to go to A&E with anaphylactic shock and Mrs Sheppard was unable to eat or speak properly for six months afterwards.
A surgeon who inspected the treatment Melin used judged it extremely dangerous.
Melin, who is accused of causing grievous bodily harm, ran a mobile clinic called the Smooth Face Botox Company – carrying out treatments at beauty salons and in customers’ homes.
His then wife, Lisa Bolster, was involved in the business and they are both charged with fraudulently claiming Melin was medically qualified.
Bournemouth Crown Court was told he did not check patients’ medical histories and used an undiluted solution to make it work quicker.
He saw Mrs King in a salon in 2013, charging £300 for supposed Botox to her jawline.
She questioned the large size of the needles and saw Melin wipe his nose after putting on surgical gloves.
Simon Jones, prosecuting, said Mrs King suffered the extreme reaction during a sec- ond, £100 ‘consultation’. The injections were painful and her face started to swell and burn up inside an hour. She sent Melin a picture of her face but was told to put a wet flannel on it and take paracetamol.
She had blisters around her eyes, which were so swollen she could not see. At hospital Mrs King was put on a drip and given steroids and antihistamines. She reported Melin to the police and Mrs Sheppard and her friend Mrs Kingscott came forward to say they had a similar reaction after being treated by Melin at a salon in Bristol in 2011.
Mrs Sheppard’s treatment left her unable to eat, speak or smile properly for six months and she has been left with a permanent dimple. A year after the initial complaint to the police, Miss Bolster’s home in Lytchett Matravers, near Poole, Dorset, was searched. Officers found vials with labels falsely claiming to be Botox.
Mr Jones told the jury: ‘In August 2013 Marcelle King made a complaint to the police following a reaction she had to what she believed were Botox injections given to her by Ozan Melin, a man who purported to be medically qualified.
‘Marcelle King suffered grievous bodily harm following these injections. It is the prosecution’s case that they amount to an unlawful and malicious assault upon her.
‘ Ozan Melin told Jozette Sheppard and others he was a doctor, educated in the US and had undergone medical training in the Turkish army with a specialism in facial surgery.
‘At the time they had no reason to question what was a significant lie.
‘They only gave permission because they believed Mr Melin was a qualified doctor.
‘The prosecution say these three customers in this case have all sustained really serious harm and the infliction of that harm was clearly by Ozan Melin, a man who knew he was not medically qualified and was clearly reckless as to the severe consequences.
‘Miss Bolster was party to that deception. She set up these appointments. Each of these individuals were misled as to the qualifications of Mr Melin. In each case the intention was to make financial gain, this was a business they were operating at the time.’
Melin, from Uxbridge, West London, denies three counts of causing grievous bodily harm and three charges of fraud.
Bolster has pleaded not guilty to fraud.
The trial continues.
‘Sustained really serious harm’