Famed hospital heart doctor faces jail for teen assault
Wigan Magistrates’ Court heard yesterday how Dr Gohar Rahman, who once worked for the United Nations, slapped his 17-year-old victim before repeatedly battering her with a walking stick.
The 57-year-old, a consultant cardiologist at Wigan Infirmary, wept after pleading guilty to actual bodily harm and will now be sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court next month.
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Hide AdIt is believed Rahman is still working for the local health trust.
Magistrates were shown photographs of his teenage victim’s wounds but the full extent of her injuries were not shown to the rest of the court.
The unprovoked attack happened on November 1 last year.
Carl Gaffney, prosecuting, said: “This is a case where there are significant ramifications. He has an important role at the local hospital.”
Describing the attack, he explained how it began in a car where Rahman, of Upper Dicconson Street, Swinley, “grabbed her long hair and banged her head into the back of the passenger seat”.
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Hide AdThe court heard how Rahman then dragged the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, out of the car before continuing his savage attack.
Mr Gaffney added: “He grabbed her by her hair again. She stated that he threw her down and hit her while shouting.
“He then tells her to get up and she did. He hits her and she then falls onto the floor. He drags her on to her feet by grabbing her hair. He used his hands to hit her on her arms and back.”
The court heard how at one point the victim fell to the floor and when she got back up he slapped her face. Mr Gaffney said that he struck her on “her arms, back and bottom”.
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Hide AdIt was in another confrontation several minutes later, the court heard, where Rahman continued his attack and threatened her.
Mr Gaffney said: “He picked up a wooden walking stick and he hit her with it.
“She says at one point he looked around for something else to hit her with. He continued to hit her with the stick. He told her ‘the next one is coming at your face’. She described the assault as lasting for 10 minutes.”
Rahman, who has not been suspended from his position, bowed his head and wept in the dock as his defence solicitor handed letters to the magistrates about his character.
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Hide AdAccording to the Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh (WWL) NHS Foundation Trust website, he graduated from Khyber Medical University, one of the worldwide renowned medical institutes in Pakistan; obtained field experience with the United Nations and then a tertiary Teaching Centre in Pakistan before moving to the UK in 1998.
His solicitor, Mr Lakha, said the letters described him in “glowing terms as a professional and a family man”.
He added: “He has worked hard to better himself. His actions are all the more lacking in comprehension. They are completely unacceptable.
“He knows he has brought shame upon himself and he has shamed his family. He wants to say how sorry he is.”
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Hide AdThe sentencing date for Rahman is February 23 at Liverpool Crown Court.
A spokesman for WWL said: “Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust can confirm that the case is subject to ongoing court proceedings and it would be inappropriate for the Trust to comment at this time. Appropriate action has been taken in accordance with Trust policies.”