The Mchinji First Magistrate Court has sentenced a 29-year-old man to seven years imprisonment with hard labour for allegedly posing as a medical doctor at Mchinji District Hospital.

Blessings Chisale, real name Veriano Fungulani was arrested on Tuesday last week at the hospital premises and was charged with an offence of impersonating public officers, contrary to Section 99 (b) of the Penal Code.

Appearing before first grade magistrate Rodwell Meja on Friday last, the suspect pleaded guilty to the charges leveled against him and asked for leniency.

Before the sentencing, Chisale shocked the court when he told the presiding magistrate that his real name is Fungulani not Chisale as indicated earlier indicated on the file.

The development forced the State prosecutor ask Fungulani to repeat his identity details, apparently after it was noted that he seemed a slippery character.

Fungulani is the fourth fake doctor to be arrested and convicted in the country within a space of one year.

The first two fake doctors were arrested at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital(QECH) in the commercial capital Blantyre and the other one was arrested at Kamuzu Central Hospital(KCH) in Lilongwe.