Pharmacist Tauqeer Azam of Glasgow, “who abused a position of trust to sexually abuse two women during medical examinations”, was last week sentenced “to two years imprisonment”, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Office (COPFS) last week (February 13) announced.
Last month, a Glasgow Sheriff Court jury found the 41-year-old guilty of two sexual offences during consultations at a Boots and Well Pharmacy.
COPFS has now revealed that the first incident took place at the Boots Pharmacy at the Gyle Shopping Centre in Edinburgh in 2021, when a young woman “sought medical assistance after noticing a rash on her leg”.
“She was taken to a private room – without a chaperone or second witness – where Azam then asked to see her legs,” it added.
Read more: Boots and Well worker found guilty of two consultation sex offences
“After she partially removed her trousers, Azam uttered remarks of a sexual nature, leaving the victim feeling ‘scared and vulnerable’,” it said.
And in 2023, Azam’s second victim “sought treatment for a rash and was taken into a private consultation room without a chaperone” at a Well Pharmacy on Nitshill Road in Glasgow, it added.
He then “sexually assaulted the woman and made inappropriate sexual remarks, leaving the victim feeling ‘violently sick’,” it said.
Reported by Boots
Boots yesterday told C+D that at the time of the incident it reported the pharmacist, who was working as a locum pharmacist, to the General Pharmaceutical Council.
He hasn’t worked at any Boots pharmacy since, it added.
Read more: Boots pharmacist struck off for touching morning-after pill mum’s ‘intimate areas’
C+D approached Well for comment.
The COPFS said that Azam’s name will be “added to the sex offenders register for 10 years” in addition to his two-year sentence.
“Exploited trust”
“Azam is a predatory individual who exploited a position of trust,” Glasgow and Strathkelvin procurator fiscal Fraser Gibson said.
“These two women should have been safe when seeking medical treatment but were instead sexually abused and assaulted,” he added.
“This prosecution and conviction were only possible because of their courage in reporting their experiences to the police and giving evidence,” he said.
Read more: GPhC: Just 8% of sexual misconduct allegations referred for FtP hearing
“Because of that bravery, other women will now be protected while Azam is held accountable for his appalling behaviour,” he added.
“I would urge anyone who has experienced similar offending to come forward and report it – you will be listened to and supported as we seek to secure justice using all the tools at our disposal,” he said.
Sexual assault
In November, a pharmacy technician was removed from the register after he “took advantage” of a teenager who he messaged on Snapchat and gave cannabis “to facilitate the offence of rape”.
Last January, a locum pharmacist was given a six-month suspension for performing an “internal vaginal examination” on a patient, despite it being “neither clinically justified” nor he “qualified [or] competent to do so”.
Read more: Locum handed six-month suspension after ‘wholly unnecessary’ vaginal exam
And in August, a pharmacist was struck off the register for touching a patient’s “intimate areas” for “sexual gratification” after incorrectly telling her she needed a physical examination to get a morning-after pill. However, a court did not convict the Boots pharmacist for the incident.
