The 50-year-old doctor was caught by police in March after allegedly having paid 1,000 kronor ($1,000) for a “quickie” with a woman he met via an escort service, the Aftonbladet newspaper reported.
While the doctor maintained he never had sex with the woman, he was nevertheless convicted in June of buying sex, which is a crime in Sweden.
Following his conviction, the doctor was fired from his job.
According to the hospital’s human resources director, it was “absolutely unacceptable” to a chief physician convicted of buying sex working at the hospital.
“We no longer have faith in the chief,” the HR director told the paper at the time.
The doctor didn’t help matters by later threatening the prostitute to withdraw her testimony against him.
Nevertheless, the doctor has since filed a lawsuit against the hospital seeking his job back as well as 175,000 kronor ($26,300) in compensation for what he argues was an unjust firing.
In making his case for reinstatement, the doctor references two previous labour court rulings in which men convicted of buying sex while abroad were allowed to keep their jobs because the encounters were viewed as one-time digressions.
According to the doctor, he deeply regrets the momentary lapse in judgment which led him to purchase see after a stressful day at work.
His lawsuit argues further that the firing violates Swedish employment law and the hospital had no right to suspend him while the case was still in court.
When contacted about the doctor’s lawsuit, however, the hospital HR manager refused to comment.
The Local/dl
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