Danish man given suspended sentence after posing as a doctor to get close to women

Court hears how Michael Chamilo Precht tricked girls into submitting to physical examinations by posing as a doctor at Mater Dei • Shadow health minister calls for tightening of security measures in hospitals

Michael Camilo Precht
Michael Camilo Precht

A Colombian-born Danish man received a suspended sentence after a court heard how he tricked girls into submitting to physical examinations by posing as a doctor.  However it appears that he has also misled the court, as an internet search for his name results in multiple stories, websites as well as a Facebook page dedicated to stopping him.

Michael Camilo Prech, 25, was arraigned before Magistrate Audrey Demicoli charged with violent indecent assault, practicing medicine without a recognized qualification, assuming a public function without being entitled to do so, and use of a falsified official document.

Inspector Jeanne Farrugia told the court that the accused claimed to be in Malta on holiday. He contacted three young Maltese models, telling them that he needed their services to set up a website for a company called Lifeguard Academy. He told the victims that a medical test was needed for insurance purposes, but that this wouldn’t be a problem as he was a doctor and could do it himself.

Last Friday and Saturday, he went to Mater Dei Hospital after 6pm using his Danish medical tag, found available rooms and conducted “medical tests” on them. The tests included an ECG, for which the women would have to expose their chest, and a breast examination.
He gave the girls a phony medical report on a stolen hospital form, advising them to “find a boyfriend who can give you a massage every day”. At this point, the girls realized that something was amiss and informed the police.

Lawyer Giannella Demarco told the court that it was all a misunderstanding and that the accused thought he was authorized to practice medicine in Malta but it turned out that he wasn’t. She explained that her client’s qualifications weren’t yet  recognized by the local authority and that “he would rather settle this straight away”.The lawyer pointed out that he had a clean conduct and that no physical violence was used.

On the advice of his lawyer, Precht pleaded guilty to violent indecent assault and was condemned to two years suspended for four and fined €2300.

However a subsequent search on the Internet has turned up several sites and newspaper articles as well as a Facebook page (in Danish) dedicated to exposing him as a fraud. The page says that Precht had previously struck in other countries, offering modelling and other jobs and would pose as a doctor to provide the applicants with a medical check-up. 

Reacting to the case, shadow health minister Claudette Buttigieg called for the tightening of security measures at the hospital.

“Scrolling through the social media, one can understand that this story has been taken with a pinch of salt by a lot of people, and I can understand their reasoning. It is a very interesting story to read,” she said.

“However, my concern about it is that in fact, it is not just a story but a reality which happened in the same place where our beloved ones are given treatment when in difficulty. This case should not be turned into a political game, as what happened is not the result of a politician. However, it is no secret that more pressure should be made to improve security in our hospitals. Security is something that patients should be able to take for granted.”