By Staff Reporter
Dubai: A Kuwaiti court has fined an assistant physician 500 dinars after convicting him of stealing antidepressant medication worth just 3.5 dinars (about $11.4) from a government hospital, in a case that has attracted attention to both mental health care access and security vulnerabilities in the nation’s public health system.
The Court of Cassation handed down the ruling after reviewing evidence that included CCTV footage showing the masked doctor removing restricted medication from hospital stores.
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The thefts came to light after hospital staff reported repeated disappearances of psychiatric drugs, prompting an internal investigation, according to local media reports.
Authorities detained the suspect following a tip from an employee. During questioning, the doctor reportedly confessed to four separate thefts, explaining that he suffered from depression and anxiety and was unable to obtain the medication through legal channels, as the drugs are strictly reserved for psychiatric patients.
— Huda Ata is an independent writer based in the UAE
