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Surgeon nabbed for drug driving, speeding at over 200km/h and having fake licences

Dr Bukhari has been arrested by gardai on numerous occasions and was even stopped in his car while wearing his hospital scrubs after smoking cannabis.

5th September 2022

A highly respected surgeon who has found himself unemployed after being sentenced to five months behind bars following convictions for of a litany of offences including driving while on drugs said “shit happens” when the Sunday World spoke to him this week.

• Syed Ali Waqas Bukhari (33) was a surgeon in Cavan General Hospital when he ran up a string of convictions for offences including driving while under the influence of cannabis, drink driving, driving without insurance or a licence, using two fake driving licences and speeding at over 200kmh.

Several of the offences occurred when he was already banned from driving for previous offences.

Dr Bukhari, from Butlers Bridge in Cavan, was highly respected by many of his colleagues at Cavan General Hospital who he said gave him references saying his issues never affected the quality of his work.

However, at his latest court appearance in June a judge said he was troubled by his offending particularly given his position of responsibility.

He was sentenced to five months behind bars but is currently appealing the sentence.

Dr Bukhari’s contract at Cavan General Hospital ended the month after his latest court appearance and the contract was not renewed.

When the Sunday World called to his home this week, he said he never let his drinking and drug taking affect his work.

He admitted it was unusual for someone in his line of work to be convicted of such offences.

“It is. The judge thought that. I’m not working anymore. They haven’t suspended me or anything but obviously with investigations going on, it’s hard to get work.”

Asked what was going on when he committed the offences, he said “I had a lot going on. I have been suffering through some medical illness and all that. Sh*t happens, you know.”

Dr Bukhari has been arrested by gardai on numerous occasions and was even stopped in his car while wearing his hospital scrubs after smoking cannabis.

However, he told the Sunday World that occurred when he was off duty and said he had never gone to work under the influence of drink or drugs or put his patients at risk.

“I have a lot of referees from my work that I never showed up work with [any issues or under the influence]. I’ve never let it affect my work. It was outside of work. I have like very good referees by colleagues and all given me excellent (recommendations) and said I’m very professional and whatnot.”

Dr Bukhari’s offending is all related to driving and drugs offences.

In 2016, while he was working as a doctor in Sligo, he was caught speeding at over 200kmh on the N4 in Sligo. He came up behind an unmarked garda car at high speed and flashed his lights at Garda Peter McDonnell before whizzing past him. Garda McDonnell tried to pursue him but couldn’t keep up with him even though the garda was doing 200kmh. Dr Bukhari was convicted of careless driving and banned for driving for four months and fined €2,000.

He later got a job in Waterford before taking up a position in Cavan General Hospital a number of years ago where he was very highly thought of by colleagues.

He was subsequently convicted of a number of driving offences including two drink driving offences and driving without insurance.

Despite being banned from driving for those offences he continued to get behind the wheel and was arrested by Garda Aisling Walsh driving while stoned at Town Parks in Cavan on July 19 last year.

He pleaded guilty to driving while under the influence of cannabis, driving uninsured, driving without a licence, using a fake driving permit from Pakistan and a fake Punjabi driving licence.

He was sentenced to five months behind bars at Cavan District Court in May for those offences but is currently appealing the sentence.

He appeared in court again in June after he was caught driving again with no licence or insurance on Farnham Street in Cavan on February 14 this year.