FREDERICTON - A family doctor who now practices in New Brunswick has been found guilty of misconduct by a professional tribunal in the United Kingdom after making sexually motivated remarks to someone he believed to be a 13-year-old girl.
The girl he was conversing with in an internet chat room, by text message and on WhatsApp was actually a police detective.
In a ruling this week, the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service in the U.K. has suspended the registration of Dr. Hafeez Awan for nine months.
The electronic conversations occurred in January 2016 when Awan was a doctor near Manchester, England. He moved to Canada in October 2017.
In its ruling, the tribunal says Awan told the person posing as a teen he was a doctor, and therefore is considered to have breached his position of trust, and his conduct was unbefitting that of a registered medical practitioner.
Dr. Ed Schollenberg, registrar of New Brunswick's College of Physicians and Surgeons, says the college is looking at the ruling and won't make any decision or comment on Awan's status until the board meets at the end of the month.
Awan could not immediately be reached for comment, and a message on his office voicemail says the office is closed until Nov. 29.
