A doctor who ran a private plastic surgery clinic in The Hague has been found not guilty of mutilating dozens of women because of a lack of evidence.

Rock G opened his CityKliniek in 2008 and by 2009 complaints about botched breast enlargement operations had already begun piling up.

G was struck off the doctors’ register in 2010 after the medical council agreed he had caused pain and damage to 53 patients. In addition, he wrongly called himself a surgeon, used drugs which were out-of-date and did not adhere to hygiene rules.

Before opening the clinic, G worked as a gynaecologist, where he was also twice reprimanded for misconduct.

The court in The Hague said that while women treated by G had suffered injury as the result of infections, it could not be proven if this was due to G’s actions.

In addition, G is able to call on a legal exception which allows doctors to cause pain and injury if it is in the interests of the patient to carry out medical intervention, the court said.

Mistakes

G’s lawyer welcomed the ruling, saying ‘everyone can make mistakes but not every mistake is so severe that it should be subject to criminal law.’

G has already been scrapped from the medical register and can no longer practice as a doctor, the lawyer pointed out.

The public prosecution department is considering an appeal.