A British doctor and his wife were arrested for selling stolen hospital items online during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A court in Scotland sentenced Dr. Atiya Sheikh, a physician, and her husband Omar Sheikh to prison in a case involving the theft and sale of hospital protective and safety items.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the couple made over £8,000 from selling these items online.
In court, they admitted to stealing a large number of gloves, masks, and alcohol pads from the East Kilbride Hospital on the outskirts of Glasgow, when the UK’s healthcare system was facing the global challenge of the coronavirus.
Their actions were exposed when a distributor from a pharmaceutical company saw their company’s packaging, intended for hospital use, on the eBay online marketplace.
The trial of Atiya and Omar Sheikh began in July 2020 with charges of forgery, theft, and selling healthcare equipment.
The lower court sentenced the couple to one year in prison, but the appeals court reduced it to 10 months.
The doctor’s lawyer told the court that Atiya is deeply remorseful for her actions.