Facts
[X.] , a psychiatrist practicing in Geneva, issued several medical certificates between 1999 and 2001 attesting to the incapacity to work of his patient [Y.] to the loss of earnings insurance of her employer, the Zurich Versicherungs-Gesellschaft. However, on 6 December 2000 and 23 May 2001, [X.] sent reports to the Cantonal Office of Disability Insurance indicating that [Y.] 's work interruption was not exclusively due to health reasons and that she was pregnant again and able to work. Zurich then filed a criminal complaint against [X.] for issuing a false medical certificate.
The Police Court of the Canton of Geneva found [X.] guilty of an offence under Art. 318 SCC and sentenced him to one month's imprisonment with probation and a fine of 3,000 francs. On appeal, the Court of Justice of the Canton of Geneva confirmed the guilty verdict and, applying the more favourable new law, sentenced [X.] to 30 day-fines at 500 francs each with probation and a fine of 3,000 francs.
Considerations
The DFC partially upheld [X.] 's appeal
- It ruled that the constituent elements of the false medical certificate were met, as [X.] had knowingly attested to a fictitious work capacity of his patient to the disability insurance authority.
- However, the DFC considered that the…