A TikToker was arrested and accused of being a fraud after posing as a doctor and attempting to enter a hospital.
Matthew Lani, 27, built quite the following on the social media app under the pretence he was a doctor in Johannesburg, South Africa.
In his videos, Lani would give medical advice as well as sell medication online.
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However, on Sunday night (29 October) he was detained and later arrested after allegedly attempting to sneak past security into the Helen Joseph Hospital in Johannesburg.
Videos of Lani being detained have also begun circulating online. The clips show the TikToker wearing a t-shirt with a picture of SpongeBob SquarePants on it.
Lani allegedly tried to bypass security by wearing a surgical mask and stethoscope. When confronted he tried to escape police by jumping out of a bathroom window before being caught not long after.
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The Gauteng province’s Department of Health released a statement condemning Lani’s actions.
“Lani was caught just before 8pm disguised in a hoodie and wearing a surgical mask with a stethoscope around his neck,” the statement said.
"He had previously entered the same facility to curate misleading content under the pretence that he was a qualified doctor."
In his videos, on his now removed TikTok page, Lani claimed to have a received a medical degree from the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. However, this claim has been dismissed by the institution.
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According to the BBC, Lani attempted to mislead authorities by saying his name was Dr Sanele Zingelwa, a second-year medical intern at the Tembisa Provincial Tertiary Hospital. The real Dr Zingelwa has since opened a case against Lani and accused him of fraud.
On Tuesday (31 October), the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said it had 'no evidence' to charge the TikToker and he has since been released.
In a statement, NPA spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane said: "With the evidence currently contained in the docket, we had to decide as the prosecution if there are any prospects of a successful prosecution or not, and having to do that simply meant that we had to differentiate and make a decision with what is before us.
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"If we say that we have a person that can say they lied or are we having a person that has misrepresented, if we alleged that a person has misrepresented, then that must be followed by actual or potential prejudice.
"So, currently, in the information contained in the docket, we don't have such information hence, we have given instructions for investigations that must be complied with. Once it’s done, the docket can be brought back to the NPA for a decision."
Topics: TikTok, Health, Social Media, Crime
Gerrard Kaonga