Doctor suspended for not disclosing shoplifting records
A MANCHESTER hospital doctor has been suspended for a year for not revealing her shoplifting records to the General Medical Council.
Sunita Sharma was caught trying to steal jeans and sunglasses from a Harvey Nichols’ Knightbridge store in London and a handbag from Harrods in 2008.
She was arrested after Harvey Nichols store staff found she had cut security tags from the items with a pair of scissors in a changing room in her shoplifting attempt. The doctor received a police caution following the incidents.
The General Medical Council stumbled on her previous actions following her conviction for theft in a separate incident at the Lakeland store in Handforth, Cheshire, in 2018 while she was working as a junior clinical fellow at Manchester Royal Infirmary.
She pleaded not guilty to the charges of stealing a microwave jug, travel bags and other items from the store, but Stockport Magistrates Court in May 2019 found her guilty of theft and fined her £286. Sharma was also ordered to reimburse Lakeland for the cost of the items which was £104.18.
Sharma obtained her medical degree from Rajasthan and came to the UK aged 30. The tribunal said the 12-month suspension was “the appropriate and proportionate sanction in this case.”
“Information was obtained regarding the Metropolitan Police incident which occurred in June 2008,” the tribunal noted and ruled that the failure to report the police caution to the council amounted to “misconduct”.