GP jailed and struck off the medical register for stealing over £1m

As reported by the BBC News, a GP in Portsmouth has been jailed for three years and four months for stealing more than £1.1m

Rumi Chhapia, 45, was jailed at the end of 2021 and struck off the medical register last week.

Chhapia was a director at the Portsmouth Primary Care Alliance Limited (PCCA), a company that oversees a group of medical practices.

It has been reported that he stole the money from PCCA to fund his gambling habit.

A Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) panel found Chhapia had brought the medical profession into disrepute. The MPTS reports Chhapia made 64 transactions from PCCA’s account to his own.

The panel stated the decision to strike Chhapia off the register was necessary to “uphold and maintain professional standards and maintain public confidence in the profession”.