Married Pakistani doctor Imran Rauf Qureshi, 44, faces being struck off after sexually assaulting a student nurse he saw as “sexually available”, blaming different “culture norms” for his behaviour.
Qureshi assaulted the victim, a 21-year-old Muslim described only as ‘Miss A.’, because the fact she had previous boyfriends made her seem “sexually available”, the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service heard.
“He described the incident being a misjudgement by him and says the culture norms are different in the UK from Pakistan where he’s from,” said Rebecca Vanstone, counsel for the General Medical Council (GMC).
Vanstone described how Qureshi, a father of two, told Miss A. she was beautiful, asked whether she had a boyfriend, and told her he wanted an affair.
“Shortly afterwards Miss A. was in the ward kitchen when he entered the room and closed the door behind him. He asked whether she had a thyroid problem before feeling her neck.
“She was backed into the corner when the registrant touched her chest at the top where her breasts start. She said he put his fingers there for a few seconds before she pushed them away.
“Miss A. says she held her hand up to signal for him to move away and told him he was a disgrace. He asked for a hug and she refused but he did it anyway.
“Then he grabbed her right breast for a few seconds. Miss A. said he was laughing and trying to make light if the situation and then became aggressive and said that friends do what he was trying to do.
“Miss A. reported the incident about an hour later to a friend who told her to inform her mentor and she did so. The mentor describes the account given to her and said she appeared to be nervous, shaken up and distraught.”
Qureshi was convicted for the assault despite a Not Guilty plea in Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court, his victim having secretly recorded parts of the attack on her mobile phone.
However, the sentencing judge only handed him a 12-month community order, along with a £60 victim surcharge and an order to pay court costs of £750.
The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service proceedings have come about as a result of his efforts to prevent the GMC having him struck off.