A retired doctor from Koekelare, aged 75, has been sentenced to two years in prison by the Ypres criminal court for continuing to practise medicine despite being struck off the medical register.
The man was removed from the register in 2020 due to professional misconduct but continued consultations, home visits, and administering injections. He also sold medications obtained via a pharmacist family member, often charging patients higher prices. A patient claimed these were powerful medications not easily accessible elsewhere.
Investigators found medical records, a box of syringes, and prescriptions from another doctor during a search of his home in March 2022. That doctor was also summoned by the court over related charges.
During a police check, his vehicle contained substances such as Ozempic, Valium, testosterone, and anabolic steroids. He was caught again by authorities during another vehicle inspection in 2025.
The court convicted him of unlawful possession and sale of medication, forgery, money laundering, and selling doping products. In addition to the prison sentence, he was fined €64,000, and €185,000 was confiscated.
The second doctor involved received a suspended sentence.
