A group of doctors who reportedly ran a bogus abortion practice at the Lister (Building) Medical Centre on Jeppe Street in the Johannesburg CBD were recently sentenced by the Johannesburg Magistrates’ Court for contravention of section 7 of the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act 92 of 1998.
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Under the Act, the termination of a pregnancy may only be carried out by a [registered] medical practitioner, except for a pregnancy referred to in subsection (1)(a) – which states that an abortion can be carried out upon request by a woman during the first 12 weeks of the gestation period. The Act further prescribes that a registered midwife, who has completed the relevant training course, can carry out the termination of an unwanted pregnancy.
Speaking to the publication, Johannesburg Central Police spokesperson Captain Xoli Mbele attributed the sentences received by the five male accused, Liancio Neddy Ekombe (36); Ghislaine Lobe Moseka Elema (47); Francis Holalet Mbouaffou (48); William Mosito Mogaila (52) and Paul Gbagnonhoue (59), to good police work.
“The good convictions are the result of the work carried out by a diligent investigating officer,” said Mbele.
Referring to the arrest of the bogus doctors in 2014, Mbele said, “During a sting operation conducted on a bogus clinic in Lister Building on the corner of Small and Jeppe streets on 19 September 2014, a foetus was recovered inside a fridge and all five suspects were arrested after they failed to produce certificates to practice as doctors.
“On 6 September the same year, they terminated the pregnancy of a 16-year-old girl. Several females awaiting termination were also found in different rooms of the building.
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Ekombe, Elema and Mbouaffou each received a six-month sentence suspended for five years.
Mogaila and Gbagnonhoue were ordered to pay a fine of R20 000 or receive a six-month suspended sentence. Mogaila also received a two-year suspended sentence. According to Mbele, Mogaila and Gbagnonhoue received penalty fines due to witness statements by women on whom they had performed procedures.
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