Retention refusal upheld

The appeals committee of the GOC has upheld the decision to refuse the retention of student optometrist Luqhmahn Danial.

Danial was refused retention in January 2012 after he disclosed, for the first time, a 2010 conviction and suspended custodial sentence for motor insurance fraud in his application. At the time, the Council's registrar said Danial's declaration related to significant dishonesty that could have put others at risk. The committee said Danial provided a number of character witnesses at the hearing last week, including his brother, a registered dentist. However, it added that many did not know about the failure to declare the conviction on at least two occasions.