File photo. Photo: 123rf.com
A man accused of operating as an unlicensed dentist in West Auckland is facing dozens of charges relating to his alleged ruse, the Herald can reveal.
The allegations include rare Radiation Safety Act charges covering the alleged improper use of an X-ray machine.
The man was the sole director and shareholder of a Henderson dental practice from 2017 and appeared in the Waitakere District Court on Monday morning on a total of 77 charges.
He faces 46 charges of breaching the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act by allegedly claiming to be a health practitioner while unqualified, and performing a restricted activity without permission.
Those charges were laid under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act.
He was also up on several Crimes Act charges alleging he wrote prescriptions using false details.
The man faces a further 13 Radiation Safety Act charges of operating an X-ray machine without the necessary licence.
He faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison if convicted under the forgery charge, plus a $100,000 fine if the Radiation Act charges are proven.
All charges were brought by the Ministry of Health. Meredith Connell prosecutor Hannah Reid appeared on behalf of the ministry.
The middle-aged, tidily dressed man appeared in the Waitakere District Court on Monday morning before a registrar.
His lawyer, Krishneel Prasad, sought and was granted interim name suppression for his client until the man's next appearance in the same court on 24 October.
Prasad did not enter a plea on behalf of his client, saying there was large amounts of disclosure still to review covering the 77 charges.
The registrar granted the man bail with a standard condition to reside at his listed home address, along with another more unusual condition.
"And you're not to claim to be a dentist," she said.
- This story was first published in the New Zealand Herald