A professional engineer member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan (APEGS) was found guilty of professional misconduct following a discipline hearing held on January 28, 2021.
Mr. Bilal Mahboob plead guilty to one count of professional misconduct:
- That the member provided a forged transcript from the Allama Iqbal Open University.
- The panel determined this action by the member was in breach of subsections 20(1)(d)(i) of The Engineering and Geoscience Professions Act and section 20(1) of The Regulatory Bylaws.
After receiving and reviewing evidence in the forms of exhibits, the Discipline Hearing Panel found Mr. Bilal Mahboob guilty of professional misconduct.
The Discipline Hearing Panel acknowledged that the fundamental purpose of sentencing for professional misconduct is the protection of the public.
The Discipline Hearing Panel also considered the following factors when determining its sentence:
- Nature and gravity of the offence.
- Risk to public safety.
- Need to ensure the public’s confidence in the integrity of the profession.
- Advantage gained or to be gained by the member.
- Effect on the victim.
- The number of times the offence occurred.
- Specific deterrence of the member from engaging in further misconduct.
- General deterrence of other members of the profession.
- Rehabilitation of the offender.
- Punishment of the offender.
- Denunciation by society of the conduct.
- Range of sentences in other cases.
The Discipline Hearing Panel also considered mitigating circumstances:
- Member’s age and experience.
- Family and personal circumstances.
- History of the member’s professional conduct.
- Member’s acknowledgement of responsibility and steps taken to disclose and redress the wrong.
- Previous service history of the member.
- Effect on the member of sanctions.
- Effect of the proposed penalty on the member.
The hearing panel made it clear that it considers obtaining membership by providing forged documents to be an extremely serious form of professional misconduct. Such behaviour is corrosive to the high standards of integrity expected by the public of professional engineers and professional geoscientists.
Having considered all the above, the Discipline Hearing Panel ordered as follows:
- That Bilal Mahboob is hereby reprimanded for professional misconduct.
- That Bilal Mahboob is hereby suspended from the association and he shall be ineligible to reapply as a member of the association for a period of three years from the date of this Decision and Order and membership shall be subject to the conditions described below:
- That if Bilal Mahboob wishes to be reinstated with APEGS, he must reapply as an international graduate engineer-in-training.
- That Bilal Mahboob shall pay a fine of $5,000, to be paid prior to registration as an engineer-in-training.
- That Bilal Mahboob shall pay costs of the investigation and hearing into the member’s conduct and related costs, including the expenses of the investigation committee and the discipline committee and costs of legal services. Costs shall be assessed to a maximum of $10,000, of which 50 per cent shall be paid by Bilal Mahboob, to be paid prior to registration as an engineer-in-training.<
- That Bilal Mahboob satisfactorily completes all academic deficiencies identified by the APEGS Academic Review Committee at the time of his re- application as an international graduate engineer- in-training.
- That as a condition of any application for registration with APEGS as a professional engineer, Bilal Mahboob completes four years of acceptable engineering work experience, commencing on the date of his future registration as an engineer-in- training and submits that work experience through the competency-based assessment process.
- hat as a condition of any application for registration with APEGS as a professional engineer, Bilal Mahboob completes the APEGS Law & Ethics Seminar prior to writing and passing the Professional Practice Exam.
- That the Decision and Order shall be published on the APEGS website and in The Professional Edge, with name.
- Bilal Mahboob was reminded that, while not registered with APEGS, he may not use the title “engineer” in any form, nor imply that he is a professional engineer, as per Section 26 of The Act.