Dr Mohammad Siddiqui: Disqualified surgeon found guilty of child cruelty over private circumcision service

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A disqualified former surgeon has been found guilty of actual bodily harm and child cruelty after running a private circumcision service.

Dr Mohammad Siddiqui, 56, who was struck off the UK medical register in 2015, was convicted on Tuesday (October 29) at Southwark Crown Court of multiple offences, including actual bodily harm, child cruelty, and administering prescription-only medication to young patients.

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The charges follow an investigation into Siddiqui’s private circumcision service, which he operated across the UK from 2012 to 2013 while employed as a clinical fellow in pediatric surgery at Southampton General Hospital.

Despite being removed from the General Medical Council’s register in 2015 for performing unsafe, non-therapeutic circumcisions on infants, Siddiqui continued to offer his services, exploiting a legal loophole that allows non-therapeutic circumcisions to be conducted outside regulated medical practices.

Siddiqui admitted to 25 charges, among them 12 counts of actual bodily harm, five counts of child cruelty, and eight counts of illegally administering a prescription medicine.

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Dr Mohammad Siddiqui, 56, a former surgeon struck off the UK medical register in 2015, was convicted at Southwark Crown Court of multiple offences, including actual bodily harm, child cruelty, and administering prescription-only medication to young patients.Dr Mohammad Siddiqui, 56, a former surgeon struck off the UK medical register in 2015, was convicted at Southwark Crown Court of multiple offences, including actual bodily harm, child cruelty, and administering prescription-only medication to young patients.
Dr Mohammad Siddiqui, 56, a former surgeon struck off the UK medical register in 2015, was convicted at Southwark Crown Court of multiple offences, including actual bodily harm, child cruelty, and administering prescription-only medication to young patients. | Getty Images/iStockphoto

According to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Siddiqui displayed “complete disregard for the impact of his actions on his victims, families, and communities,” performing procedures in unsanitary conditions, causing both physical and emotional harm.

Anja Hohmeyer of the CPS said: “Siddiqui practised these circumcising acts in an unsafe and unsanitary environment and so meted out painful cruelty to children leaving them with emotional and physical scars.”

The former surgeon accessed Bupivacaine Hydrochloride, a prescription-only anesthetic, through his position at the NHS trust, which he administered without proper safety measures.

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Detective Chief Superintendent Fiona Bitters of Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary said: “Our investigation related to Siddiqui’s criminal actions whilst undertaking circumcision procedures and was not concerned with the practice of circumcision itself.”

She added that Siddiqui’s guilty plea acknowledges the strength of the evidence presented and offers closure to the victims and their families. Siddiqui’s sentencing is anticipated in the coming weeks.