New Glasgow doctor gives up licence over voyeurism case

A New Glasgow, N.S., family physician has agreed to give up the practice of medicine after admitting to planting a hidden camera in a washroom at his clinic.

Rafid Sabah Al-Nassar reached an agreement last week with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia, the body that regulates the conduct of doctors in the province.

According to the agreement, Al-Nassar admitted to buying a camera that was concealed inside a hook. He then installed the hook in the staff washroom at the Westside Medical Clinic in New Glasgow.

A staff member noticed the hook on March 21, 2016. The concealed camera contained a memory card that had video of a staff member using the washroom.

On Nov. 29, 2016, Al-Nassar was charged with voyeurism by the New Glasgow Police Department. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia began its own investigation once it learned of the charge.

Criminal charge stayed

The criminal charge was eventually stayed on the grounds the case had taken too long to move through the courts and that Al-Nassar's constitutional rights were breached.

The college alleged that the doctor was dishonest with police when it came to admitting who owned the camera and who had placed it in the washroom.

By consenting to have his licence revoked, Al-Nassar has admitted to all aspects of the allegations against him, according to the college.

"Placing a hidden camera in a medical practitioner's washroom, pointed towards the toilet, is conduct unbecoming of a medical practitioner," the decision states.

Al-Nassar was to face a disciplinary hearing next month, but that hearing has been pre-empted by the agreement.