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A pharmacist who was convicted last year after refusing to give police a breathalyser sample having crashed his car has been warned by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).

Mohammed Umer Sabir was arrested in December 2023 after crashing into a parked vehicle in Rotherham. Police officers who attended the scene found him in the driver’s seat and discovered an empty bottle of vodka as they gave him a medical check.

A fitness-to-practise committee heard Sabir refused to provide a roadside breath sample and was arrested before being taken to Shepcote Lane police station where he refused to provide a sample “numerous times”.

“The registrant gave no medical reasons as to why he would not provide a specimen of breath,” the committee’s report said.

Sabir was charged by police without interview and in March 2024, pleaded not guilty to the offence of failing to provide a specimen for analysis.

However, on June 20, 2025, he was convicted at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court and disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving licence for 20 months and fined £1,000.

The court said the disqualification would be reduced by 20 weeks if he completed a driving course and the committee heard during the hearing that he was “in a position to reapply for his licence”.

He 'drinks infrequently' and took a CPD course on substance abuse and substance misuse

The GPhC found Sabir’s fitness to practise was impaired “solely in the wider public interest” by reason of his conviction.

His legal representative at the hearing contended it was no longer impaired because he regretted not providing a specimen to police, his conviction “brought his life into sharp focus”, he was banned from driving and fined and had taken a drink-driving awareness course.

Sabir’s representative also said he “drinks infrequently” and had taken a continued professional development course on substance abuse and substance misuse. The committee heard he had “undertaken extensive and wide-ranging remediation”.

In its report, the committee said Sabir admitted the allegation, had “undertaken a journey of reflection, been genuinely remorseful of his actions” and accepted he breached the standard requiring pharmacy professionals to behave in a professional manner at all times.

Concluding Sabir did “not present an actual or potential risk current to patients or to the public”, the committee said he “demonstrated a lack of judgement and respect for the law that is incompatible with the high standards of professionalism expected of pharmacists”.

The GPhC said his warning will published on the register for 12 months.